Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Product assembly or manufacturing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-26
2001-11-20
Lee, Thomas (Department: 2182)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Product assembly or manufacturing
C700S080000, C700S096000, C700S108000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321130
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for controlling an installation comprising means for monitoring and/or commanding the operation of said installation, and a central unit connected to said means for monitoring and/or commanding the operation for reading, sending and/or processing data concerning the operation of the installation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Control devices are known for monitoring and commanding the operation of antonomous installations such as for example nitrogen generators equipped with a safety liquid nitrogen tank.
Such a known device comprising, on one hand, means for measuring parameters relating to the operation of the installation, such as for example a level sensor or a device for monitoring the generator, and commanding means for acting on the operation of the installation as a function of the results of the measurement and, on the other hand programmed automaton connected to each of said measuring and commanding means.
The automaton comprises communication means permitting for example the transmission of a warning signal to a remote monitoring centre of a supplier for initiating the replenishing of the tank or for warning the supplier of a disfunction of the generator he put at the disposal of his client.
For this purpose, the automaton is programmed in such manner that it executes a certain number of tasks for reading, sending and/or processing data relating to the operation of the installation.
Such tasks comprises for example the reading of measurement values delivered by the sensors, the comparison of the measured values with predefined thresholds for determining the alarms to be set off or the initiation of alarm procedures consisting in transmitting the alarms to a remote monitoring centre of the supplier.
These known control devices have the drawback that each automaton is specifically adapted to a particular installation. This adaptation of the automaton concerns both its electric and/or electronic structure and the tasks to execute so that two automatons for controlling the operation of two installations of different types cannot be interchanged.
Consequently, a supplier who puts at the disposal of his clients installations of different types each one of which requires a specifically adapted control device, must invest a considerable amount of money for the development and manufacture of the installations.
Further, once it is installed, such a known control device lacks flexibility in use since, in order to add later measuring sensors and/or commanding transducers in order to refine the control of the installation or monitor a new module subsequently integrated in the installation, it is usually necessary to replace the automaton of the device by another.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome these various drawbacks by providing a device for controlling an installation which provides greater flexibility as concerns adaptation to installations of different types and which permits subsequently adapting it in order to be capable of monitoring and/or commanding for example an additional new module of the installation.
For this purpose, the invention provides a device for controlling an installation, comprising means for monitoring and/or commanding the operation of said installation, and a central data processing unit adapted to communicate with said monitoring and/or commanding means for reading, sending and/or processing data concerning the operation of the installation, characterized in that the central unit comprises memory means for storing at least one parameterized task acting on said data concerning the operation of the installation, memory means for storing at least one table, each table being associated with a parameterized task and comprising values of the parameters of the considered task for executing the task, and, connected to each memory means, means for executing said parameterized tasks by using said values stored in said table or tables when executing said parameterized tasks.
The device according to the invention may also have one or more of the following features:
at least one value of a parameter of a parameterized task is a pointer,
it comprises, connected to the means for executing the tasks, a memory of an order in which the parameterized tasks must be executed in a closed loop and defining a general control task,
a parameterized task comprises requests for the reading of data by said means for monitoring and/or commanding the operation of said installation,
a parameterized task comprises actuators for said monitoring and/or commanding means,
it comprises means for storing a history of data read by the monitoring and/or commanding means, and at least one parameterized task comprises the storing of said data in the storage means,
at least one parameterized task comprises the activation of an alarm procedure,
it comprises communication means for exchanging data relating to the operation of the installation with at least one centre remotely monitoring said installation and a parameterized task comprises the data transmission,
the parameterized task for data transmission comprises the transmission of at least one alarm,
the communication means comprise means for selecting data to be sent,
said selecting means comprise means for executing a mathematic algorithm for the comparison of the data to be sent with the corresponding data which are available at the or each monitoring centre and means for inhibiting data transmission commanded by said means for executing the mathematical comparison algorithm,
the central unit comprises means for executing programmed tasks and at least one parameterized task makes use of at least one programmed task,
the means for executing the programmed tasks are connected to the data storage means for executing operations on data stored in the latter,
it comprises a microcomputer comprising a memory for storing said tables and parameterized tasks, and at least one interface for coupling to said means for monitoring and/or commanding the operation of said installation and an interface for communication with the or each remote monitoring centre, and in which there is entered a program on one hand for carrying the programmed tasks and the parameterized tasks by using said parameterized values stored in said table or tables, and on the other hand for selecting the data to be sent.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4562545 (1985-12-01), Hasegawa
patent: 4654806 (1987-03-01), Poyser et al.
patent: 5586038 (1996-12-01), Nagaoka
patent: 5602757 (1997-02-01), Haseley et al.
patent: 5659781 (1997-08-01), Larson
patent: 5838570 (1998-11-01), Barea
patent: 5892690 (1999-04-01), Boatman et al.
patent: 0 378 465 (1990-07-01), None
patent: 2 247 757 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 2 274 521 (1994-07-01), None
patent: WO 90/16048 (1990-12-01), None
Bacot Patrick
Ferenczi Laurent
Oresve Bertrand
Du Thuan
L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'
Lee Thomas
Young & Thompson
LandOfFree
Device for controlling an installation having memory for... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for controlling an installation having memory for..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for controlling an installation having memory for... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2582592