Cloud based drive monitoring solution

• US 9,647,906 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Asenjo, Juan L., Maturana, Francisco
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US13/798,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129688A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/048 Monitoring; Safety
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/13 Plc programming
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31151 Lan local area network
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0297 Reconfiguration of monitoring system, e.g. use of virtual sensors; change monitoring method as a response to monitoring results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/21 Design, administration or maintenance of databases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A cloud-based remote monitoring system and method monitor an industrial facility. The industrial facility includes one or more industrial devices. A cloud agent located at the industrial facility is configured to, by at least one processor, collect data indicative of a past and/or a present state of the industrial devices according a manifest specific to the industrial facility. The cloud agent is further configured to send the collected data to a remote cloud platform according to the manifest dynamically reconfigure the cloud agent without interrupting the collecting and the sending. The cloud platform processes the sent data to facilitate remote monitoring of the industrial devices.

Claims

1. A cloud-based remote monitoring system for monitoring an industrial facility, the industrial facility including one or more industrial devices, the system comprising:

a cloud agent located at the industrial facility and configured to, by at least one processor;

collect data indicative of a past and/or a present state of the industrial devices according a manifest specific to the industrial facility;

send the collected data to a remote cloud platform according to the manifest; and

dynamically reconfigure data collecting and sending aspects of the cloud agent without interrupting the collecting and the sending;

wherein the cloud platform processes the sent data to facilitate remote monitoring of the industrial devices; and

wherein the manifest identifies priorities for sending different types of data;

wherein the different types of data include at least two of;

live data,

historical data, and

alarm data; and

wherein the cloud agent is further configured to;

send the collected data to the remote cloud platform according to the priorities.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manifest identifies which data to collect from each of the industrial devices.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manifest identifies the send frequency for different types of data and/or industrial devices.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manifest identifies how the sent data is processed by the cloud platform.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cloud agent includes:

a collection service that collects data indicative of the past and/or the present state of the industrial devices and stores the collected data in a queue, the stored data prioritized according to the manifest;

a queue processing service that sends the stored data to the cloud platform according to the priorities of the collected data.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cloud agent is further configured to:

dynamically reconfigure the cloud agent, and dynamically reconfigure the cloud platform, to facilitate monitoring of new data parameters of new or existing industrial devices without interrupting the collecting and the sending.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the cloud agent is further configured to:

send a behavior assembly controlling the processing of collected data for the new data parameters to the cloud platform, wherein the cloud platform uses the behavior assembly to processed data including the new data parameters.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cloud agent is further configured to:

dynamically reconfigure data collecting and sending aspects of the cloud agent, through modification of the manifest, based on commands received remotely through the cloud platform.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the different types of data include live data, historical data, and alarm data.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the live data is of:

a higher priority than the historical data; and

a lower priority than the alarm data.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the collected data is sent to the remote cloud platform in a data packet;

and

wherein the data packet includes a header containing a site identifier and a virtual support engineer identifier.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the priorities indicate the order with which the cloud platform processes the data.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manifest identifies a number of most recent alarms in an alarm queue of an industrial device of the one or more industrial devices are to be collected.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the historical data includes at least one of:

alarm history,

warning history,

fault history,

status history, and

trend data.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the historical data includes at least three of:

alarm history,

warning history,

fault history,

status history, and

trend data.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the historical data includes all of:

alarm history,

warning history,

fault history,

status history, and

trend data.

17. A cloud-based remote monitoring method for monitoring an industrial facility, the industrial facility including one or more industrial devices, the method comprising:

by at least one processor located at the industrial facility;

collecting data indicative of a past and/or a present state of the industrial devices according a manifest specific to the industrial facility;

sending the collected data to a remote cloud platform according to the manifest; and

dynamically reconfiguring data collecting and sending aspects of the at least one processor without interrupting the collecting and the sending;

wherein the cloud platform processes the sent data to facilitate remote monitoring of the industrial devices; and

wherein the manifest identifies priorities for sending different types of data;

wherein the different types of data include at least two of;

live data,

historical data, and

alarm data; and

wherein the method further includes;

sending the collected data to the remote cloud platform according to the priorities.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the manifest identifies which data to collect from each of the industrial devices.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the manifest identifies the send frequency for different types of data and/or industrial devices.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the manifest identifies how the sent data is processed by the cloud platform.

21. The method according to claim 17, further including:

dynamically reconfiguring the at least one processor, and dynamically reconfiguring the cloud platform, to facilitate monitoring of new data parameters of new or existing industrial devices without interrupting the collecting and the sending.

22. The method according to claim 21, further including:

sending a behavior assembly controlling the processing of collected data for the new data parameters to the cloud platform, wherein the cloud platform uses the behavior assembly to processed data including the new data parameters.

23. The method according to claim 17, wherein the cloud agent is further configured to:

dynamically reconfigure the cloud agent, through modification of the manifest, based on commands received remotely through the cloud platform.

24. The method according to claim 17, wherein the different types of data include live data, historical data, and alarm data.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the live data is of:

a higher priority than the historical data; and

a lower priority than the alarm data.

26. The method according to claim 17, wherein the collected data is sent to the remote cloud platform in a data packet;

and

wherein the data packet includes a header containing a site identifier and a virtual support engineer identifier.

27. A cloud-based remote monitoring system for monitoring an industrial facility, the industrial facility including one or more industrial devices, the system comprising:

a cloud agent located at the industrial facility and configured to, by at least one processor;

collect data indicative of a past and/or a present state of the industrial devices according a manifest specific to the industrial facility;

send the collected data to a remote cloud platform according to the manifest, the collected data sent to corresponding queues of the cloud platform based on data type; and

dynamically reconfigure data collecting and sending aspects of the cloud agent without interrupting the collecting and the sending;

wherein the cloud platform processes the sent data from the queues to facilitate remote monitoring of the industrial devices, data in each queue processed differently;

wherein the manifest identifies priorities for sending different types of data; and

wherein the different types of data include at least two of;

live data,

historical data, and

alarm data; and

wherein the cloud agent is further configured to;

send the collected data to the remote cloud platform according to the priorities.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein the different types of data include live data, historical data, and alarm data.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the live data is of:

a higher priority than the historical data; and

a lower priority than the alarm data.

30. The system according to claim 27, wherein the collected data is sent to the remote cloud platform in a data packet;

and

wherein the data packet includes a header containing a site identifier and a virtual support engineer identifier.