Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer network managing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-04
2001-10-02
Farahi, Farzaneh (Department: 2152)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer network managing
C700S017000, C700S019000, C709S220000, C709S224000, C702S183000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298377
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to field device management in industrial process systems and similar systems.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Field devices for industrial processes generally signify regulating devices, control devices, sensors, transducers, and the like, directly connected to the process. A typical field device is a control valve provided with a valve controller, such as the valve controller ND800 of Neles Controls Oy. So-called intelligent field devices are provided with a control logic or software, which may make it possible to control the field device locally for instance by means of a suitable control algorithm, to collect status and measurement data and/or to communicate with a field management system in accordance with a field communication protocol, such as HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer). Additionally, intelligent field devices contain that much diagnostics at present that a field device is capable of informing of its failure. This information can be utilized for recognizing the device requiring maintenance, which reduces the maintenance costs because unnecessary device testings are avoided. Moreover, the utilization ratio of a plant (factory) increases when the number of unanticipated shutdowns decrease.
Typical field management systems are PC programs provided with graphical user interfaces and comprising properties as follows: configuration of field device, configuration database, maintenance control of field device based on status data received from field device, and status database of field device. Examples of commercial field management systems are: Field Manager manufactured by Fisher-Rosemount Inc.; Documint manufactured by Honeywell Inc.; Cornerstone manufactured by Applied Technologies Inc.; Smartvision manufactured by Elsag-Bailey.
The maintenance control function is typically automatic and can be configurated by the user. At maintenance control, a software scans the field devices as desired by the user and stores the status, data desired by the user in the status database together with a time stamp. The status database can be browsed by means of a graphical user interface, which may be located anywhere in the plant. In this way, universal status data, which are very limited as far as e.g. condition data are concerned, are received from the field device. Status data items describing the condition of the device are typically: in condition and out of condition. This is often not enough for predictive or preventive maintenance.
Plant operators use so-called control room applications when running the plant by actual process control automation systems. Because the operator monitors the process day by day, he could start a maintenance step of a predetermined field device in time, if he were informed of the condition of said field device. A problem is to bring an information on a failure in the field device to the knowledge of the operator or maintenance person of the plant, because automation systems do not support digital field communication protocols, such as HART. A reason for this is that they are primarily regarded as configuration protocols of the field device or the communication protocol does not support a transmission of operating status data of the field device. The diagnostics of the field device is clearly an area belonging to the field device supplier and not to the supplier of the actual automation system. The present control room applications show only the data required for operating the process, and the operator has to check the status of the field devices relating to said process in a separate field device management software. To use a separate field device management software in the control room is problematic for the operator, because there is no connection between the field devices displayed by the software and the process to be monitored. This leads to the fact that the operator primarily monitors the process and does not react to the condition of the field device until it causes interference with the process.
The significance of diagnostics in intelligent field devices will continue to increase in a field bus environment. It is then especially important that the field device management concept and also the outputs and reports provided by it are clear and simple enough for the users. The present methods are not simple and sophisticated enough for this purpose. It is to be assumed that the two-way communication of the field devices will provide a flood of information in maintenance control software and automation systems. Accordingly, they rather increase the amount of work than decrease it. On the other hand, in order to achieve a simple and easy-to-use concept of diagnostics, the tools already existing in the control rooms should be utilized as much as possible. User interfaces of new application programs are not desired in the control room, because they require further training and maintenance and increase the complexity of running and monitoring the process. Actually, a user-friendly diagnostic system should not be visible to the user as a software provided with a separate user interface at all.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is a maintenance management of field devices, which is simple and easy to use for the user.
This is achieved by a field management method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
In the invention, a maintenance control system of field devices communicates with the field devices of the process over a field communication interface using a predetermined field communication protocol, such as HART. The system may also have several different field communication interfaces. Over a field communication interface, status and/or diagnostic data of field devices are collected in a manner specific for each field device type. The system processes the collected data and produces condition or event data, e.g. alarms and also fault and maintenance data, to external systems, e.g. to the automation system, the process control room or some other control facility of the plant. The event and condition data are transmitted to an external system by an open communication method independent of the field device type and the field communication interface. Such open communication methods are for instance electronic mail, Internet, Intranet, DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange), short message. The system of the invention may preferably support several different open communication methods, by which event data can be transmitted to different destinations. The interaction between the system of the invention and another party over an open communication interface may be of client/server type, in which case for instance the system of the invention acts as a server.
The system of the invention produces event data of the process to any external destination supporting the open communication method used by the system. This solves the present problem, where an application and data transmission of the automation system have to be tailor-made for each field device for providing the information produced by intelligent field devices available to the automation system of the plant. The invention encapsulates the data transmission and offers open interfaces for applications of the automation system. Using open communicating technologies also decreases the need of tailoring and modifications in the automation system.
The data structure of event data is preferably independent of the field device type, i.e. it is similar for all types of field device. Generic condition (status) and event data signify here all the generic data processed or derived from the raw data received from the field device, which generic data enable an easy connection of the field device management system for instance to an application of the automation system or which are in a readable user-friendly form. The field management system of the invention enables an active transmission of generic condition data of field devices to the control room software of the automation system and a linking to the objects of the graphical
Hartikainen Kari
Honkanen Tuomo
Farahi Farzaneh
Metso Field Systems Oy
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
LandOfFree
Field device management system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Field device management system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Field device management system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2586366