Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration

• US 20060206860A1
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Systems USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Invensys Systems Incorporated (Invensys PLC)
• Inventors: Volk, Scott, Meskonis, Paul, Hall, Robert, Johnson, Mark, Dardinski, Steven, Mackay, Brian, Eldridge, Keith
• Granted Patent: US 8,368,640 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/105
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41845 characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23258 GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, labview
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23261 Use control template library
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24055 Trace, store a working, operation history
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24167 Encryption, password, user access privileges
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25428 Field device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31104 Remote configuration of parameters of controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33125 System configuration, reconfiguration, customization, automatic
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Connection objects or other such data structures facilitate establishing and configuring connections between objects that model components in a process control system. A first set of data structures (e.g., the object connection type structures) identify valid types for component-to-component pairings and the respective roles of each component in the pairing (e.g., parent or child, source or sink). A second set of data structures (e.g., the parameter connection type structures) supply similar information for parameter-to-parameter connections. Together, these data structures can be used, for example, to validate component-to-component connections suggested by the user and to automatically configure parameter-to-parameter connections. Actual connections, both at the component or parameter level, are reflected using parameter overrides within the parameterized object model with which the connection objects are constructed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for configuring a process control system, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of objects, each object representing an entity, and each object being associated with an object type,

at least one object (“

connection”

object) identifying permissible combinations of object types that can form any of a parent/child relationship, a source/sink relationship, and other relationship,

the apparatus validating a potential relationship between objects by comparing the object types with which they are associated with permissible relationships identified by the connection object.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection object specifies a role that one or more object types may serve in a relationship, the roles including (i) any of source and sink in a source/sink relationship, and (ii) any of parent and child in a parent/child relationship.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

one or more object types are associated in a hierarchical relationship, and wherein

the apparatus validates a potential relationship between two objects via the existence of a connection object identifying as permissible a relationship between any of (i) object types associated with those two objects, and (ii) object types that are hierarchically related to the object types associated with those two objects.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parent/child relationship is indicative of any of a hierarchical and a containment relationship between objects.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the connection object specifies a role that an object may serve in a parent/child relationship, the roles including any of a parent role and a child role.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a parent role, a capacity of that object to support relationships with objects that serve in a child role.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a child role, any of a weight and other quantitative attribute (collectively, “

weight”

) associated with that object, and

the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a parent role, a capacity in weight of that object to support relationships with objects that serve in a child role.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the source/sink relationship is indicative of a peer-to-peer relationship between objects.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the connection object specifies a role that an object may serve in a source/sink relationship, the roles including any of a source role and a sink role.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a source role, any of a minimum and maximum number of relationships that object may support with objects that serve in a sink role.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a sink role, any of a minimum and maximum number of relationships that object may support with objects that serve in a source role.

12. Apparatus for configuring a process control system, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of objects, each object representing an entity, and each object being associated with an object type,

at least one object (“

connection”

object) identifying permissible combinations of object types that can form any of a parent/child relationship, a source/sink relationship, and other relationship,

the apparatus at least initially validating a potential relationship between objects by comparing the object types with which they are associated with permissible relationships identified by the connection object,

the connection object identifying validated relationships established between objects.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the connection object specifies a role that an object serves in a relationship with any of itself and another object, the roles including (i) any of source and sink in a source/sink relationship, and (ii) any of parent and child in a parent/child relationship.

14. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein an object represents an entity within any of (i) a controlled system, (ii) the control system, (iii) a control level hierarchy, and (iv) the apparatus for configuring the control system.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein an entity includes any of a field device, control processor, block, loop, compound, historian, object type category, display placeholder, graphical display entity, and report.

16. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the parent/child relationship is indicative of any of a hierarchical and a containment relationship between objects.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the connection object specifies a role that an object may serve in a parent/child relationship, the roles including any of a parent role and a child role.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a parent role, a capacity of that object to support relationships with objects that serve in a child role.

19. Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a child role, any of a weight and other quantitative attribute (collectively, “

weight”

) associated with that object, and

the connection object identifies, for an object that may serve in a parent role, a capacity in weight of that object to support relationships with objects that serve in a child role.

20. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the source/sink relationship is indicative of a peer-to-peer relationship between objects.

21-134. -134. (canceled)