Method of controling a plurality of master control stations

• US 8,959,447 B1
• Filed: 10/28/2011
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENGlobal Corporation
• Original Assignee: ENGlobal Corporation
• Inventors: Weldon, Bert M., Hancock, Artemus Ward Jr., Ho, Anthony King, Wilson, Van Kent
• Primary Examiner(s): Pesin, Boris
• Assistant Examiner(s): BADAWI, ANGIE M
• Application Number:
  US13/284,774
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• Field of Search: 715/769
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

A method for controlling subsea components from multiple manufacturers, each having a proprietary communication interface. The method can include creating a graphical representation of a production system to be controlled by a universal master control station, setting control sequences for the system, creating a script for comprising control code for a universal master control station associated with subsea/topside equipment at a field, and configuring the universal master control station using the script.

Claims

1. A method for controlling subsea and topside components from multiple manufacturers, each having a proprietary communication interface, wherein the method comprises:

a. creating a graphical representation of a production system for subsea/topside equipments to be controlled by a universal master control station with a programmable controller controlling code at the programmable level, wherein creating the production system comprises code for;

i. dragging and dropping one or more parent objects from an object pool onto a display screen, wherein each parent object having a parent object method to perform actions and each parent object is assigned to a subsea/topside equipment;

ii. dragging and dropping one or more child objects from the object pool onto a display screen, wherein each one or more child objects is assigned to a subsea/topside equipment, each one or more child objects having one or more methods to perform actions upon the subsea/topside equipment;

iii. assigning one or more child objects to a parent object, thereby establishing the parent in a dominant relationship over the one or more child objects with each class of parent and one or more child objects having unique object methods, wherein the parent object is dominant for setting interlocks for each one or more child objects without modification to the code at the programming level;

iv. associating one or more graphic symbols with the parent object or the one or more child objects;

v. setting configuration points for the parent object or the one or more child objects; and

vi. setting interlocks for the parent object or the one or more child objects;

b. setting control sequences for the production system of the subsea/topside equipments;

c. creating a script comprising a user configurable control code for a universal master control station associated with the subsea/topside equipments, wherein the user configurable control code is developed using an engineering client configuration tool which forms a logic string for an interlock configuration and a safety shutdown sequence;

d. configuring the universal master control station using the script;

e. creating a comprehensive relationship between a parent object instance and one or more child object instances and the subsea/topside equipments graphically presented on a customized control graphic; and

f. adding the parent object instance and the one or more child object instances can be added without disability or stopping the operation of the universal master control station allowing a user to monitor the interlock configuration and the safety shutdown sequence imposed on each object instance and create custom alarm messages.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the universal master control station comprises a plurality of human machine interface modules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each human machine interface module is in communication with a display monitor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the subsea/topside field equipment comprises a member of the group consisting of:

piping, valves, metering valves, tree valves, intelligent valves, safety valves, chokes, sensors, sand detectors, single/multiphase flow meters, injection well flow detectors, down hole measurement sensors, erosion detectors, electrical power units, hydraulic power units, and combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an alarm history for alarms occurring with the production system.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising grouping alarms by parent objects, child objects, or combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an event log when non-alarm events are stored in the universal master control station.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing trending using values recorded by the universal master control station.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring of tampering with equipment or pipelines associated with the universal master control station.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring for software failure occurring due to writing bad code and improper use of the production system.