Data processing: presentation processing of document – operator i – Presentation processing of document – Layout
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-08
2004-12-21
Hong, Stephen S. (Department: 2176)
Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator i
Presentation processing of document
Layout
C715S252000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06834370
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for creating master recipes for manufacturing products with process equipment in a plant with a plant-level batch control computer system. More specifically it relates to methods for creating master recipes automatically or semi-automatically by converting them from general recipes which are independent of equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The process industry is the segment of industry which handles bulk materials, such as chemicals, food products, bulk polymeric materials, fuels, pharmaceuticals, etc., by processing input materials in a bulk manner to change their physical or chemical state to manufacture products. Industrial processes within this industry often can be segregated into one of three categories, i.e., continuous operations, batch operations and discrete operations. Batch operations are required when the products being manufactured, for example, either: (1) do not justify a dedicated, continuous operation, (2) are not capable of being produced by a continuous operation, (3) pose an unreasonable risk if the batch is fouled or lost, etc. Batch type operations of the second category (i.e., those which are incapable of continuous operation) which do not fall within the first category (do justify a dedicated continuous operation) typically will have a dedicated production line, which operates in a semi-continuous manner. Products, which fall into the first category, create a unique, and very significant sector in the process industry. The term “batch process” typically refers to processes in the first category (processes which do not justify a continuous operation).
Process plants, which perform batch processes, deal with a variety of unique issues. Each plant, or manufacturing site, will typically have manufacturing areas with one or more subordinate process cells. The process cells contain process equipment arranged in a manner, which will allow them to manufacture a variety of products. Very often these process cells will perform as independent or contract manufacturing facilities, manufacturing different products on a regular basis depending upon customer or company needs. The process cells will be designed to allow materials to flow in a variety of flow paths within the cell. The equipment within these cells is typically selected to allow the plant to perform a variety of different process operations, such as mixing, heating, cooling, filtering, distilling, crystallizing, etc. The combination of the variable flow paths between the equipment and the variety of process operations available within the cell provide the flexibility to manufacture a large variety of batch products to different procedures. This allows the plant to maximize the utilization of its resources, thereby minimizing the cost to produce the products.
Products manufactured by batch processes are no different than any other product. They require a detailed procedure to be performed by the equipment within the process cell in order to manufacture the product. These procedures, by their very nature, must be specific to the process cell to assure they are executed accurately. Most of the process cells used today are either partially, or fully automated. In the case of automated cells, the procedure typically will not even run if the procedure is not absolutely specific. This means that a different procedure is required for every process cell. In fact, a single process cell is often able to produce the same product with a variety of different procedures, in many cases using different equipment and material routings within the process cell.
Companies that specialize in batch processes in the process industry often have a large number of process cells, usually with a variety of different configurations. A company may have multiple sites, or plants, each site having multiple process cells. The sites may have different operating standards. For example, the process control systems often include process controllers interfacing the equipment and controlling the operation of the equipment directly, and computer systems in communication with the process controllers. The computer systems allow operators to monitor and supervise the process by indirectly interfacing the process controllers through the computer system. Different sites may have different process controllers operating on different control software and different computer systems operating on different supervisory software. For example, one site may have a WINDOWS® based operating system and another may have a UNIX-based operating system. There are also many different process controllers in use. Commonly used process controllers include Allen Bradley PLC 5, Allen Bradley PCL 5/250, Allen Bradley SLC 5/04, Siemens 505, Siemens S5, Siemens S7/PCS7, Siemens Teleperm M, Honeywell TPS 100, Honeywell PlantScape, Honeywell IPC 620, Hartman & Braun Freelance 2000, Fischer Provox, Modicon Quantum, and Moore APACS.
Differences between process cells and between company sites combined with the discontinuous nature of batch processes more often than not result in a vary large number of procedures to create the same product throughout the company. There are also different kinds of procedures associated with any one product. The need to disseminate the general procedure for making any one product throughout the company creates the need for procedures, which are not equipment specific, and do not include the details associated with the process cell. These procedures are process specific and provide the necessary detail to communicate how to manufacture the product independent of equipment. They are typically normalized relative to quantity of product (i.e., percentages, lb. per lb., etc.). Other needs, for example, resource planning and scheduling needs such as are required by production controllers and enterprise resource planning systems, define other types of procedures which typically are even more general than those previously described. An example of this type of procedure is a simple bill of materials and general operations.
It is generally recognized in the industry that there are four major categories of procedure types for batch processes. These procedure types are defined by the Instrument Society of America (ISA) in ISA standard S88.01, released in October of 1995. These four procedural categories are given in ISA S88.01 as the “general recipe,” the “site recipe,” the “master recipe,” and the “control recipe.” The definitions of these categories of procedures as given in ISA S88.01 follow. The ISA S88.01 definition of “recipe” is also given for reference purposes.
General Recipe—A type of recipe that expresses equipment and site independent processing requirements.
Site Recipe—A type of recipe that is site specific.
Master Recipe—A type of recipe that accounts for equipment capabilities and may include cell-specific information.
Control Recipe—A type of recipe, which, through its execution, defines the manufacture of a single batch of specific product.
Recipe—The necessary set of information that uniquely defines the production requirements for a specific product.
The term “master recipe” as used herein refers to the equipment specific procedure for manufacturing a product, or group of products, from one or more input materials in a process cell using a specific set of equipment with a specific equipment layout. The master recipes are generally quantity independent and represent material quantity requirements normalized to the amount of product being produced. The term master recipe as used herein also includes quantity-specific recipes such as control recipes, as described in more detail later. The term specific set of equipment means the same type and numbers of equipment, which can perform the same processes, requiring the same commands from the supervisory computer system to perform these processes.
The term specific equipment layout means the equipment items are interconnected to allow materials to flow between the different pieces of equipmen
Brandl Dennis
Hall Ray
Xi Xiaojin
Fenwick & West LLP
Hong Stephen S.
OSI Software, Inc.
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