JP2023162420A - System and apparatus for distribution of batch and continuous process control data to remote devices - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device.SOLUTION: A method for providing batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device includes: receiving a request to create a list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device; presenting a selection interface to facilitate selection of the batch data to be provided; and receiving, via the selection interface, a selection of a batch executive for providing batch process data. Also the method includes: receiving, via the selection interface, one or more filter criteria; applying the filter criteria to data available from the batch executive to determine a set of data to be included in the list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device; and transmitting to a mobile server an indication of the set of data associated with the list of batch data to be provided to the mobile device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to mobile monitoring of batch process control environments, and specifically to systems for providing customizable real-time visibility on multiple mobile devices of batch and continuous process control systems.

Distributed control systems (DCS) are used in a variety of process industries including chemical, petrochemical, refining, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, power, cement, water and wastewater, oil and gas, pulp and paper, and steel. , used to control batch, fed-batch, and continuous processes operating at a single location or at remote locations. A process plant typically includes one or more field devices communicatively coupled to one or more field devices via an analog, digital, or combined analog/digital bus, or via a wireless communication link or network. Includes process controller. Collectively, the various devices perform monitoring, control, and data collection functions for process, safety shutdown systems, fire and gas detection systems, mechanical health monitoring systems, maintenance systems, decision support, and other Control the system.

Field devices, which can be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches, and transmitters (e.g., temperature, pressure, level, and flow rate sensors), are placed within the process environment and generally control the opening or closing of valves, the control of process parameters, and the like. Performing physical or process control functions, such as measurements, to control one or more processes running within a process plant or system. Smart field devices, such as field devices that comply with the well-known Fieldbus protocol, may also perform control calculations, alarm functions, and other control functions commonly implemented within controllers. A process controller is also typically located within the plant environment, and the process controller receives signals indicative of process measurements made by the field devices and/or other information about the field devices, e.g., makes process control decisions and receives different control modules that generate control signals based on the information and interact with control modules or blocks performed in field devices such as HART®, WirelessHART®, and FOUNDATION® Fieldbus field devices. Run the controller application you want to run. A control module of the controller sends control signals to field devices through communication lines or links to thereby control operation of at least a portion of the process plant or system.

Information from field devices and controllers is transmitted to operator workstations, personal computers or computing devices, data historians, report generators, and centralized databases that are typically located in control rooms or other locations away from the more demanding plant environment. , or other centrally managed computing devices, typically over a data highway. Each of these hardware devices is typically centralized across a process plant or over a portion of a process plant. These hardware devices allow, for example, operators to change the settings of process control routines, modify the operation of control modules within the controller or field devices, view the current state of the process, and monitor alarms generated by field devices and controllers. enable the performance of functions related to process control and/or process plant operation, such as viewing process information, simulating process operation for the purpose of training personnel or testing process control software, maintaining and updating configuration databases; Run the application to get it.

As an example, the DeltaV™ control system, sold by Emerson Process Management, includes multiple applications stored in and executed by different equipment located at various locations within a process plant. . A configuration application residing within one or more workstations or computing devices allows users to create or modify process control modules and download those process control modules to a dedicated distributed controller via the data highway. enable. Typically, these control modules are comprised of communicatively interconnected functional blocks that perform functions within a control scheme based on inputs thereto and that outputs outputs to others within the control scheme. An object within an object-oriented programming protocol that provides functional blocks for. The configuration application also allows the configuration engineer to create an operator interface that the viewing application uses to display data to the operator and to allow the operator to change settings such as set points within the process control routines. or may be allowed to change. Each dedicated controller, and in some cases one or more field devices, stores a respective controller application that executes downloaded control modules assigned to them to implement the actual process control functions. and execute. A viewing application may execute on one or more operator workstations (or one or more remote computing devices communicatively coupled to the operator workstation and the data highway), and the viewing application receives data from the controller application. Receive data via the highway and use a user interface to display this data to a process control system designer, operator, or user to provide an operator's view, an engineer's view, a technician's view, etc. may provide any of a number of different views. While data historian applications are typically stored on and executed by data historian devices that collect and store some or all of the data provided across the data highway, configuration database applications are currently may be executed on a further remote computer connected to the data highway to store the process control routine configuration and data associated therewith. Alternatively, the configuration database may be located within the same workstation as the configuration application.

In many distributed process control systems, each field device within a process plant is assigned a unique device tag. Unique device tags provide an easy means to reference the corresponding field device. Device tags may be used during configuration of a process control system to identify the source or destination, respectively, of inputs or outputs to functional blocks within a control module. Each signal type has a specific format or set of information associated with it, and a device tag for a particular device may have a specific signal type associated with it, allowing the device tag to be used as an input or output for a functional block. A functional block can know the format and information associated with that signal. If a field device has multiple signals associated with it (e.g., a valve may measure and transmit both pressure and temperature), a device signal tag may be associated with each signal for that field device. .

For a variety of reasons, access to process control system data has traditionally been accessed while on the process plant premises and/or at devices connected to the data highway linking operator workstations, controllers, data historians, and other equipment. was only available when using . Security is a particular concern with respect to process control systems, and as such operators of process control systems are generally concerned about the possibility that outsiders may cause damage to the process control system, affect product quality or viability, or take possession of the process control system. The process control system is physically separated from the external network environment (eg, the Internet) to limit or prevent opportunities to access or steal information.

More recently, a small number of technologies have been developed that allow users to view some information from process control systems via mobile devices such as smartphones even when not directly connected to the process networks and data highways that make up the process plant. mobile solutions are emerging. These solutions enable the monitoring of a single data source, such as a data historian, and the available data is limited to the data stored within the data historian (i.e., a small subset of the total data in the process plant). ) is limited to. Moreover, even the data available through such systems is not available in real time (this is due to the frequency with which the data is stored in the data historian). Furthermore, due to delays in data availability, and the limited subset of data available, alarms are not generally available through currently offered mobile systems, and some mobile systems To the extent that such functionality may be available, alarms are not “built-in” to the process control system (i.e., they are provided as a layer on top of the mobile system and require extensive and time-consuming engineering to implement. technology) or lack the real-time and historical data needed to evaluate and troubleshoot alarms.

Some aspects of the systems and methods described herein relate to secure and timely communication of process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device. The system and method provides a system and method within a process control system via a mobile server that receives process data from a data server that obtains process data in real time from a process control system as data values are generated or received by a controller within the process control system. may enable secure access to any process data, including batch data, in real time.

In an embodiment, a method of providing batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device includes receiving a request to create a list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device. . The method also includes presenting a selection interface to a user to facilitate selection of batch data to be provided to a remote computing device and selection of a batch executive to provide batch process data therefrom. receiving at a first computing device via an interface, the batch executive being operating on a controller within the process plant; The method further includes receiving one or more filter criteria at the first computing device via the selection interface; and applying the filter criteria to data available from the batch executive at the first computing device. determining a set of data to be included in a list of batch data provided to a remote computing device and an indication of a set of data associated with a list of batch data provided to a mobile device to a mobile server; including sending.

In another embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing machine-readable instructions optimized for a microprocessor on a mobile computing device is configured to create a graphical user interface (graphical user interface) when executed by the microprocessor. displaying a user interface (GUI) and receiving a selection of one or more items for viewing via the GUI, each of the one or more items being executed within the process control system; A microprocessor is configured to receive and transmit selections of one or more items associated with a batch process to a mobile server via either the Internet or a cellular data connection. The instructions also include receiving a plurality of real-time values corresponding to the selected one or more items from the mobile server via either the Internet or a cellular data connection, and displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI. cause the microprocessor to do the following.

The features and advantages of the methods, apparatus, and systems described herein are best understood by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an example process control environment in accordance with the present specification; FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process in a process control environment. 1B is a block diagram of individual devices within the example process of FIG. 1B. FIG. 1C depicts individual process control entities in the apparatus of FIG. 1C. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the flow of products through other process control entities in the example process of FIG. 1B. FIG. 2 illustrates two exemplary display graphics that may be displayed in accordance with the present invention. 2 illustrates an exemplary watchlist that may be displayed in accordance with the present invention. 1G illustrates an example display showing data regarding particular items in the watch list of FIG. 1G; FIG. 4 illustrates an example alarm list display in accordance with the present specification. 1I shows a display that may be generated for a particular alarm in the alarm list of FIG. 1I; FIG. 1H shows an alternative display of the information in FIG. 1H that may be shown when the device is rotated to landscape orientation; FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating the overall architecture of a system for mobile information distribution in a process control environment according to the present specification. 4 illustrates an example home screen that may be displayed on a mobile device. 2 illustrates a batch list that may be displayed to a user of a mobile device. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary data list configuration method for a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for retrieving configuration data in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary data subscription method in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary data subscription communication sequence in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary data server communication method in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary data server communication sequence in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary mobile server communication method in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary mobile server communication sequence in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary view list subscription sequence in a process control system of a process plant. 1 is a block diagram of an example data server in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example mobile server in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example mobile server internal communication architecture in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary alarm notification method in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary alarm transmission sequence in a process control system of a process plant. 1 is a block diagram of an example alarm notification architecture in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary alarm response method in a process control system of a process plant. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example web client implementation in accordance with the systems and methods described herein. FIG. 2 is a signal diagram of an example GUI generation sequence operating on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of a list in a list GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of a list in a list GUI running on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a watchlist items GUI running on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a watchlist items GUI running on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of an alarm list GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of an alarm item GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of steps in the process of combining watchlist items via a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of steps in the process of combining watchlist items via a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of steps in the process of combining watchlist items via a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of steps in the process of combining watchlist items via a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example representation of steps in the process of combining watchlist items via a watchlist GUI running on a mobile computing device. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example list configuration method implemented by a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a selection interface operating on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a search interface operating on a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a filter interface operating on a mobile computing device. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example user access configuration method implemented by a mobile computing device. 1 is an example representation of a user access interface operating on a mobile computing device. 2 is an example display showing unit procedures associated with a particular batch. 2 is an example display showing operations associated with a unit procedure. 2 is an example display showing phases associated with an operation. 5 is an example display showing parameters associated with an operation. 3 is an exemplary display showing phase details; 2 is an example display showing equipment associated with a group of batches. 5 is an example display showing phases associated with a piece of equipment. 2 is an example display showing parameters associated with a piece of equipment. 5 is an example display showing prompts associated with a group of batches. 3 is an exemplary display showing details of a prompt. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of configuring a list of batch data. This is a user interface for enabling batch data to be provided to a mobile server. 1 is an example interface for setting properties of a batch list. 2 is an example interface for filtering to select data appearing on a mobile device. 1 is an example interface for identifying parameters appearing on a mobile device. 2 is an example interface for selecting users to receive notifications of prompts.

As mentioned above, known distributed process control systems provide systems in which operators, maintenance personnel, and others associated with the process control system are remote from operator workstations and/or remote from physical locations in the process plant. lack the ability to maintain situational awareness when As a result, plant personnel cannot observe the process control system and operation of the process plant unless they are physically present there. Because process plants typically operate in multiple shifts, observation and operation of the process plant is passed on multiple times during the day. While plant personnel on a particular shift can be saved for those on subsequent shifts, these shift changes create discontinuities in process and equipment operation and management, and can disrupt product quality, plant efficiency, maintenance, and environmental safety. can have adverse effects on performance, regulatory compliance, and other aspects of process plant management. Implementations of the systems, devices, and methods for mobile information distribution described herein alleviate many of the discontinuities and associated problems resulting from such shift changes and provide increased situational awareness. personnel, resulting in additional benefits that will become apparent throughout the disclosure below.

FIG. 1A shows an example process plant network that includes a mobile services infrastructure 12 for supporting multiple mobile devices 14 that have access to data associated with a process plant and are not necessarily located on a process plant premises. 10 is shown. As described in detail herein, mobile services infrastructure 12 facilitates real-time communication of process plant data available within process control plant network 10 to any mobile device 14; Maintaining security of process plant network 10. Each of the mobile devices 14 includes, among other elements, an application 16 executable by the mobile device 14 for allowing a user to interact with process plant data via a graphical user interface (GUI) 18. .

Generally, plant personnel utilize one or more applications 20 to oversee and control the operation of process plant 10 and distributed control system 22 implemented within process plant 10 . Viewing or monitoring application 20 typically includes a user interface application that uses a variety of different displays to provide information about processes to each of the operators and maintenance technicians and/or other users at the workstations, such as workstations 30 and 32. Describe graphics as a graph.

The process plant environment of FIG. 1A also includes a graphical configuration system 34. The process plant environment of FIG. Graphical configuration system 34 generally facilitates the creation of control and monitoring schemes for control of a process plant, including graphical displays. Graphical configuration system 34 may be used, for example, to control modules, module templates stored in libraries, graphical displays and templates, and other aspects of the control system, and later configure instances of control modules. is actually executed within the control of the process plant, either by downloading to a controller or by running an instance of the graphical display in a user display presented to, for example, operators and maintenance personnel during operation of the plant 10. It may include a configuration editor 35 that may be used to create instances or uses. It will be appreciated that the graphical configuration system 34, configuration editor 35, and various control modules, templates, and graphical displays may be stored in tangible computer-readable memory or media and run on one or more processors as described herein. Able to perform the functions described in the document.

As is typically the case, the distributed process control system 22 shown in FIG. 1A has one or more controllers 40, each of which has a It is connected to one or more field devices 44 and 46 (which may be smart devices) via an input/output (I/O) device or card 48, which may be a 4-20 ma interface or the like. Controller 40 is also coupled to one or more host or operator workstations 30-32 via a data highway 54, which may be, for example, an Ethernet link. A database of process data 58 may be connected to data highway 54 to collect and store process variables, process parameters, status, and other data associated with controllers, field devices, and any other devices within plant 10. It works like this. During operation of process plant 10, process data database 58 may receive process data from controller 40 and indirectly from field devices 44-46 via data highway 54.

Configuration database 60 stores the current configuration of distributed control system 22 within plant 10 that is downloaded to and stored on controller 40 and field devices 44, 46. Configuration database 60 includes one or more control strategies of distributed control system 22 , configuration parameters of devices 44 , 46 , assignments of devices 44 , 46 to process control functions, and other configurations associated with process plant 10 . Store process control functions that define data. Configuration database 60 further stores graphical objects or user displays as well as configuration data associated with these objects or displays as described in more detail herein to provide various graphical representations of elements within process plant 10. You may. Some of the stored graphical objects may correspond to process control functions (e.g., process graphics developed from a particular PID loop), and other graphical objects may be device-specific (e.g., (graphics corresponding to pressure sensors).

Data historian 62 (another database) stores events, alarms, comments, and actions taken by operators. Events, alarms, and comments can be sent to individual devices (e.g., valves, transmitters), communication links (e.g., wired Fieldbus segments, WirelessHART communication links), or process control functions (e.g., to maintain a desired temperature set point). PI control loop). Additionally, knowledge repository 64 stores references, operator logbook entries, help topics, or links to these and other documents that operators and maintenance technicians may find useful when supervising process plant 10 . Still further, user database 66 stores information regarding users such as operators and maintenance technicians. For each user, the user database 66 stores, for example, their role within the organization, the user's scope of control, areas within the process plant 10 with which the user is involved, work team coordination, security information, system privileges, shift information, etc. It is possible.

Each of the databases 58-66 may be any desired type of data storage or collection device, including any desired type of memory, and any desired or known software, hardware, or firmware for storing data. It can be a unit. Of course, databases 58-66 need not reside in separate physical devices. Accordingly, in some embodiments, some of databases 58-66 may be implemented on a shared data processor and memory. In general, fewer or more databases may be utilized to store the data collectively stored and managed by databases 58-66 in the exemplary system of FIG. 1A.

Controllers 40, I/O cards 48, and field devices 44, 46 are typically located deep within and distributed throughout the potentially harsh plant environment, but operator workstations 30 and 32, and The databases 58-66 are typically located in a control room or other less harsh environment that is easily accessible to control personnel, maintenance personnel, and various other plant personnel. However, in some cases these functions may be implemented using handheld devices coupled to data highway 54, and these handheld devices are typically located at various locations within the plant. carried to. Such portable devices, and in some cases operator workstations and other display devices, may be connected to DCS 22 via wireless communication connections. These portable devices are distinguished from mobile devices 14 in that the mobile devices do not necessarily need to reside on the process plant premises or be directly coupled (via wired or wireless means) to the data highway 54. by.

As is known, each of the controllers 40, which may be, by way of example, a DeltaV™ controller sold by Emerson Process Management, may be implemented using any number of independently executed different control modules or blocks 70. , stores and executes a controller application that implements the control strategy. Each of the control modules 70 may be comprised of what are commonly referred to as functional blocks, each functional block being part or subroutine of an overall control routine and connecting (via communications called links) to other functional blocks. The blocks operate together to implement a process control loop within process plant 10. As is well known, functional blocks that can be objects in object-oriented programming protocols typically include input functions such as those associated with transmitters, sensors, or other process parameter measurement devices, PIDs, fuzzy logic, etc. A control function, such as that associated with a control routine that performs control of a control function, or an output function that controls the operation of some device, such as a valve, to perform some physical function within process plant 10. Of course, there are hybrid and other types of complex functional blocks, such as model predictive controllers (MPCs), optimizers, etc. While the Fieldbus protocol and the DeltaV system protocol use control modules and function blocks designed and implemented in object-oriented programming protocols, control modules can be implemented using any desired control programming, including, for example, sequential function blocks, ladder logic, etc. scheme and is not limited to design and implementation using functional blocks or any other specific programming techniques. Each of the controllers 40 may also support the AMS suite of applications sold by Emerson Process Management, which uses predictive intelligence to manage mechanical equipment, electrical systems, process equipment, instrumentation, non-smart The availability and performance of production assets, including smart field devices 44, 46, etc., may be improved.

As described, the DCS 22 includes one or more controllers 40 communicatively coupled to workstation(s) 30, 32 in a control room. Controller 40 automates the control of field devices 44, 46 in the process area by executing process control strategies implemented through workstations 30, 32. An exemplary process strategy involves measuring pressure using a pressure sensor field device and automatically sending commands to a valve positioner to open and close a flow valve based on the pressure measurement. I/O card 48 translates information received from field devices 44, 46 into a format compatible with controller 40, and translates information from controller 40 into a format compatible with field devices 44, 46.

Through I/O card 48, controller 40 may communicate with field devices 44, 46 according to control module 70 downloaded to controller 40. Control module 70 is programmed using configuration system 34. In configuration system 34, an engineer may create control module 70, for example, by instantiating one or more functional blocks. As an example, a configuration engineer may instantiate an AI functional block to receive an analog input from one of the field devices 44, 46, and the AI functional block may generate an instance of an AI functional block that receives an analog output from one of the field devices 44, 46. Various associated values (eg, signal values, alarm limits, signal status, etc.) may be received. The AI functional block may output a corresponding signal to another functional block (eg, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control functional block, a custom functional block, a display module, etc.). Once an AI functional block is instantiated, associating the functional block with a unique device tag associated with a field device 44, 46 may cause the functional block to have appropriate I/O It cooperates with the O-card 48 to cause information from the correct field devices 44, 46 to be processed.

In the plant network 10 shown in FIG. 1A, the field devices 44, 46 connected to the controller 40 may be standard 4-20 ma devices, including processors and memory, HART®, Profibus, or FOUNDATION. It may be a smart field device, such as a ® Fieldbus field device, or any desired type of device. Some of these devices, such as Fieldbus field devices (labeled with reference numeral 46 in FIG. 1A), may be associated with a control strategy implemented within controller 40 or may be associated with data collection, Modules or submodules, such as functional blocks, that perform other actions such as trends, alarms, calibration, etc. may be stored and executed. Functional blocks 72, shown disposed within two different Fieldbus field devices 46 in FIG. 1A, may be executed within controller 40 in conjunction with execution of control module 70 to perform process control, as is well known. Of course, the field devices 44, 46 may be any type of device such as a sensor, valve, transmitter, positioner, etc., and the I/O device 48 may be implemented using any desired communication or controller protocol, such as HART, Fieldbus, It can be any type of I/O device, compliant with Profibus or the like.

With continued reference to FIG. 1A, workstations 30 and 32 may include various applications used for a variety of different functions performed by personnel within plant 10. Each of workstations 30 and 32 includes a memory 80 that stores various applications, programs, data structures, etc., and a processor 82 that may be used to execute any of the applications stored within memory 80. In the example shown in FIG. 1A, workstation 30 also creates control routines or modules in addition to display and viewing application 20, such as, for example, a control module creation application, an operator interface application, and control modules 70 and 72; Includes one or more process controller configuration applications 84 that may include other data structures that may be accessed by any interested configuration engineers to download them to the various controllers 40 and devices 46 of the plant 10. Configuration application 84 also includes a display or graphical configuration system 34 having a configuration editor 35 that may be used to create control module 70 .

Generally, the viewing application 20 allows an operator to view a display module configured to provide specific information about the operation of a particular area of the process plant 10 and to control the operation of the process plant 10 according to the information on the display module. Allows you to control. The display module is rendered on the workstations 30, 32 and incorporates real-time process data received from the controller 40 and field devices 44, 46. As used herein, "real-time" communication of data is defined as "real-time" communication of data through an electronic communications network that has normal delays for processing, routing, and transmission, without unintentionally introducing additional non-trivial delays. refers to electronic communications. In some embodiments, a trivial delay of less than 5 seconds (preferably less than 2 seconds) may be introduced to reduce network congestion when communicating data in real time. The display module may, for example, allow an operator or other user to manipulate (e.g., read or write) data values to field devices 44, 46, control module 70, and functional block 72, as well as DCS 22 and process plant. It may be any type of interface that allows the operation of the entire 10 to be monitored or modified. The display module may be stored within the memory 80 of the workstations 30, 32 and may be stored within the configuration database 60.

Control module 70, and in some embodiments display module, may be part of configuration file 74 within configuration database 60. That is, the control module 70 may be stored in the configuration file 74 along with the display module or separately from the display module. In any event, configuration file 74 typically stores the entire configuration of DCS 22, including devices, device tags, friendly names, data format information (e.g., scaling information, unit type, etc.), and these variables are associated with loops, defined control strategies, etc. As indicated above, configuration file 74 may also be downloaded to controller 40 to implement the control strategies defined within configuration file 74.

As will be appreciated, process plant 10 may send hundreds, thousands, or even thousands of signals to cause field devices 44, 46 to perform control functions in accordance with a control strategy programmed within control module 70. , outputs from transmitters (i.e., sensors) on hundreds or thousands of field devices 44, 46, and/or inputs to these field devices 44, 46. The plant 10 may be divided into different regions, a plurality of which regions may be controlled by a single controller 40, each of which regions may be controlled by a single controller or multiple controllers 40. , or some combination. In any event, the field devices 44, 46 that make up the process plant 10 are likely to be individually duplicated multiple times within the process plant 10 (e.g., many valves of any type, many pumps, many heaters, many tanks, etc.). Field devices 44, 46 may also be combined into functional groups within a physical area (a "process area") in which field devices 44, 46 within that process area perform specific portions of the overall process. conduct. For example, a particular process area may have equipment for generating steam for other parts of the process. Within a process area, there may be overlapping pieces or groups of equipment ("process equipment") that share similar structures and functions. By way of example, process equipment within a steam generation process region may include a boiler and a turbogenerator, and the process region may include multiple instances of this process equipment.

As an example, FIG. 1B shows a flow diagram 100 illustrating a process for converting crude oil to other fuel oils. At the entry point to the refining process, crude unit 102 separates components and distributes them for further downstream processing by other units. Each of the devices may include various equipment such as pumps, compressors, heat exchangers, reactors, tanks, separation and distillation columns, and various valves, transmitters, pumps, and the like. Many of the devices may include common processing equipment. For example, heaters can be used in different devices.

Referring to FIG. 1C, which shows a block diagram of crude oil unit 102, crude oil unit 102 includes a variety of field devices. Although FIG. 1C shows the desalter 104, combustion heater 106, fractionator 108, pump 110, and vessels 112, 114, the crude oil unit 102 includes other field devices not shown in FIG. Examples include temperature, level, and pressure transmitters, valves, etc. Each field device, each group of devices, each process equipment, and/or each process area is provided with a display module for presenting it to an operator during operation of process plant 10 and for containing information specific to that operation. It may have corresponding display graphics used. For example, combustion heater 106 may be represented in display module 116 with a limited set of parameters, as shown in FIG. 1D.

In FIG. 1D, combustion heater 106 is shown with six parameters. Although, of course, the parameters will be different for different pieces of equipment and in some cases for different uses of the equipment (e.g., the parameters included in the combustion heater 106 used in the crude oil unit 102 are The parameters shown in the display module 116 include O ₂ and NOx levels in the fuel gas (118, 120, respectively), the output temperature 122 , process fluid flow rate 124 , fuel gas pressure 126 , and draft pressure 128 .

As another example, and referring back to FIG. 1B, diesel fuel output from crude unit 102 flows to hydrocracker 103. The components of diesel hydrocracker 103 are shown in block diagram 130 in FIG. 1E and include feed system 132, heater and reactor set 134, stripper 136, and gas plant 138. Of course, each of the components shown in FIG. 1E may be composed of several (or many) subcomponents. For example, heater and reactor set 134 may include a single reactor or multiple reactors. Accordingly, display graphics corresponding to reactor 134 may include a single reactor or multiple reactors, and may include a single reactor or multiple reactors, as shown in FIG. 1F. may be displayed differently depending on the In FIG. 1F, display graphics 140 shows a single reactor, while display graphics 142 shows multiple reactors. Parameters associated with each of display graphics 140 and 142 are also shown, and it should be understood that these may vary depending on the particular arrangement and use of the equipment shown.

Generally, process plant 10 of FIG. 1 may be used to implement batch and/or continuous processes. For example, a pharmaceutical processing facility may implement a batch process. Pharmaceutical processing facilities use batch processing techniques to produce large quantities of a particular substance, such as a drug, through a step-by-step process. This is in contrast to continuous process techniques, such as those used to control the flow of natural gas through a refinery, whereas batch process techniques involve processes such as recipes that specify discrete steps to produce a product. , involves a series of discrete and regular steps. For example, in a batch process environment, the final or desired product is typically produced using a series of steps known as a controlled recipe. Each step may require the use of one or more pieces of equipment such as heaters, conveyor belts, tanks, mixers, etc.

There are three types of recipes: procedures, unit procedures, and operations. Each recipe is a series of steps, some of which may operate in parallel with others. A procedure includes one or more unit procedures as steps in a recipe. A unit procedure includes one or more operations as steps in a recipe. An operation includes one or more phases as steps in a recipe. A phase is available for operation on a piece of equipment, also called a process device. In order to entrain a phase on a piece of equipment, a recipe must first "get" it, preventing other recipes from operating those phases at the same time. Note that a device obtained by a unit procedure may have multiple operations (as steps of the unit procedure) performing phases in parallel on that device. Note that the same operation can also perform phases in parallel on the device. A procedure can define multiple unit procedures to, for example, prepare a paint of a particular color. Each unit procedure can define different mixing phases. For example, a first unit procedure may define a premix procedure used to mix base materials (e.g., latex, oil, solvent, etc.), and a second unit procedure may be used to define an intermediate Raw materials (eg, binders, surfactants, etc.) may be mixed and colored pigments may be mixed into the product using a separate unit procedure.

The steps of each unit procedure are implemented using one or more operations, and the steps of each operation are implemented using one or more process phases. A process phase may correspond to specific process equipment. The operation performs phases for a single device rather than multiple devices. Thus, this example should be rephrased as: "The operation may involve using a feed addition phase and a corresponding agitation phase with a mixer." The addition phase involves adding ingredients to other ingredients already in the mixer, and the agitation phase involves controlling the mixer to mix the ingredients. After the mixer has finished mixing the ingredients, controlling the field devices 44, 46 to flow the mixture from the mixer to a holding tank as part of the mixer's discharge phase, which may be performed as part of the same or a separate operation. make it possible.

A particular plant may also have multiple recipes operating substantially in parallel. Typically, manufacturing plants are logically separated into distinct groups of equipment. Each group contains specific equipment and will often be designated for specific operations. Each control recipe typically contains all the information (e.g., procedural structure, recipe parameters, required equipment, etc.) and controls various groups of processes, including different process areas, devices, loops, or equipment. and manufacture specific products. For example, one recipe may require the use of a mixing vat, while another recipe involves heating in a storage container. These control recipes are instantiated into a running "batch" by a batch executive or equivalent subsystem. The actual instantiation of a control recipe into a running batch typically involves loading the control recipe within the batch executive's process, e.g. by loading the recipe into the memory resources used by the batch executive. With a batch executive, a batch executive executes a control recipe using a processor and other computer resources, including various hardware and software resources.

As another example, one of the workstations 30, 32 or controller 40 generally performs a specific type of operation of one or more of the field devices 44, 46 (i.e., equipment) (as well as other equipment). The Batch Executive Routine is a high-level control routine that directs the series of different steps (commonly called phases) needed to produce a batch of a product, such as a salt. To implement the different phases, the batch executive routine uses recipes that specify the steps to be performed, the amounts of ingredients, the times associated with the steps, and the order of the steps. Steps in one recipe include, for example, filling a reaction vessel with appropriate materials or raw materials, heating the materials in the reaction vessel to a certain temperature for a certain amount of time, and emptying the reaction vessel. and then cleaning the reaction vessel and preparing it for the next batch run. Each of the steps defines a phase of the batch run, and the batch executive routine within controller 40 will execute a different control algorithm for each of these phases. Of course, the specific ingredients, amounts of ingredients, heating temperatures, times, etc. may vary for different recipes and, as a result, these parameters may vary from batch run to batch run depending on the product being manufactured or produced and the recipe used. It can change to Those skilled in the art will appreciate that although control routines and configurations are described herein for batch runs using specific equipment, the control routines can be used to control any desired device if desired. It will be appreciated that any other desired batch or continuous process run may be performed.

Personnel at a refinery or any process plant are typically not responsible for monitoring or controlling the entire process plant. Instead, personnel have different "spans of responsibility." Referring to the exemplary refining process above, for example, a particular operator may be responsible for a crude oil unit and one of several diesel hydroprocessing units. Other operators may be responsible for other sets of the same equipment (e.g., different crude equipment in the same process area, crude equipment in another process area, etc.), and some operators may be responsible for different sets of equipment. (e.g., a naphtha hydrotreater); still other operators may be responsible for monitoring the process at a higher level (e.g., monitoring the entire refining process or one or more characteristics of the output product. may also be in charge of monitoring). Each operator may view, monitor, and/or operate different display modules according to the operator's area of responsibility. Operators with similar areas of responsibility, for example two operators each responsible for a crude oil unit, can see identical looking display modules (each showing data for the crude oil unit for which each operator is responsible). , other operators may see different display modules adapted (i.e., designed or configured) to enable monitoring and/or operation of parameters, devices, and processes corresponding to their respective areas of responsibility. can. Additionally, other personnel (e.g., other than the operator) may be responsible for environmental operations within the process plant, and may be responsible for all equipment within the process plant or for equipment within the area of responsibility of one of the operators. or may only be concerned with environmental parameters, alerts, and alarms associated with a subset of unsupported equipment.

Operators and operators within the process plant, including real-time process variables and parameters, alarms, warnings, alerts, configuration information (e.g., from configuration file 74), control module 70, display module, batch information (for batch processes), etc. Data and displays available in real time to other personnel are collectively referred to herein as "process level data" and include all data stored, processed, or communicated by controller 40. May contain data. Process level data is of course useful to operators, but also to maintenance personnel and other business personnel who may need or desire to monitor the real-time status of all or part of a process.

In embodiments described herein, personnel can access process-level data (and in some embodiments, additional data as further described elsewhere herein) via mobile device 14. can be accessed. This can be done, for example, to keep an eye on specific problems that have occurred previously or to maintain some situational awareness for continuity between shift changes (i.e. when returning to one's shift useful when an operator wishes to monitor equipment within his or her area of responsibility during periods when he or she is not on duty (e.g., during another shift). could be. On the other hand, maintenance personnel may wish to be alerted to issues that need to be addressed upon their return to the process plant. Still further, personnel on the process plant premises (e.g., operators "on shift") may collaborate with colleagues not currently on the premises to receive assistance in diagnosing and/or resolving such situations at the process plant; Having access to process level data while physically absent from the process plant can facilitate such collaboration. Of course, there are many other reasons why plant personnel would benefit from the availability of plant-level data on mobile devices 14.

In general, contemplated embodiments facilitate access to plant-level data via mobile device 14 by allowing a user of mobile device 14 to configure a view list. View lists may include, by way of example and not limitation, watch lists, alarm lists, batch lists, silica lists, system diagnostic lists, device alert lists, key performance indicator (KPI) lists, decision support lists, and other derivatives of the "list" concept. For example, FIG. 1M shows an example home screen 143 that may be displayed on mobile device 14 showing various view lists 145 accessible to the user. Each watchlist 145 includes a title/description 147, status information 149, and indicator icons 151. By way of example, status information 149 may include, in the case of an alarm list, the number of active, inactive, and suppressed alarms that are part of the alarm list, and in the case of a watch list, the number of items on the list and the list with abnormal status. The number of items above, and in the case of batch lists, the number of running batches on the list and the number of pending batches on the list. On the other hand, the indicator icon 151 indicates, in the case of an alarm list, whether there are active and/or unrecognized alarms; in the case of a watch list, the presence of abnormal values between the watched parameters; and In the case of a batch list, the presence of prompts or obstacles between batches on the list (by different modifications to the icon, such as an exclamation mark (!), and/or the presence of other symbols, or by the presence of red exclamation marks and prompts for obstacles) (can be differentiated by color differences between the same icons, such as the use of a blue exclamation mark).

FIG. 1G shows an example watchlist 144 for diesel hydrotreater 103 (labeled “DHT1”). The watchlist for diesel hydrotreater "DHT1" includes a variety of items 146, which may be customized by the user of the mobile device 14, and the order of the items in the list and 144 may also be customized by the user (described below). ). From list 144, the user can select one of the watchlist items to obtain and view other information about that item, including, as shown in view 148 in FIG. 1H, History values and other related parameters are included, such as tags, module names, friendly names, information source paths, and other information that may depend on the item selected from the watchlist. For example, in the case of a control loop, items may include the process variable itself, its set point, output, and scale, as well as alarms and/or abnormal conditions associated with the process value. As described herein, much of the information displayed and the manner in which it is displayed is customizable by the user.

The user can quickly move from displayed data to related data, just as the user can within the process plant, eg, operator workstations 30, 32. For example, by tapping on an alarm, the user can move to the alarm list 150, as shown in FIG. 1I, and/or to the alarm view 152 (see FIG. 1J), from which the user can Details of the alarm, such as the alarm name, description, date and time of the alarm, response time, functional classification, trends associated with the process value that triggered the alarm, recommended corrective actions, etc., may be viewed. This is similar to the way an operator at a workstation 30, 32 may interact with an alarm by clicking on the alarm to view the associated data.

The system may also provide the user with a list of key decisions to pay attention to. These lists may involve operations, planning, maintenance, asset management, etc. Decision priorities may reflect conditions that change rapidly and cannot be easily specified in advance (commonly referred to as unstructured and semi-structured decision problems). Decision support systems can be either fully computerized, human-powered, or a combination of both.

Additional information may be made available, in embodiments, by rotating the mobile device 14 sideways, and information may be navigated by zooming in/out using touch gestures, as shown in FIG. 1K. It may be viewed in more or less detail.

On the other hand, in the case of a batch list, different information may be displayed than a watch list and/or an alarm list. FIG. 1N shows a batch list 153 that may be displayed to a user of mobile device 14. Batch list 153 may display a plurality of batches 155a-e selected by the user for inclusion in batch list 153, as described herein. Batch list 153 includes, for each batch 155a-e, batch status 157 (e.g., whether the batch is pending, running, or completed), total run time 159, batch ID 161, batch recipe 163, and prompts. or may include an indication 165 of the presence of a fault (prompts or faults distinguished by different color icons or different icons altogether). Batch list 153 also provides information between the viewing batch that the user has selected for viewing, the viewing device associated with the batch selected for viewing, and the viewing prompt for the batch selected for viewing, respectively. may include three tabs 167a-c that allow for switching between the tabs 167a-c.

Further features are described in detail with reference to infrastructure and system implementation.

System Architecture Referring now to FIG. 1L, a block diagram depicts the overall architecture 152 of a system for mobile information distribution in a process control environment. The architecture may be generally divided into three levels: a plant/process level 154, a data service level 156, and a mobile service level 158, which collectively include four to six different networks. Plant/process level 154 includes a field network (not shown) that couples controller 40 to field devices 44 , 46 , as well as workstations 30 , 32 , databases 58 - 66 , and others within process control plant 10 . It includes a control network (shown in FIG. 1A as data highway 54) that couples the components. Plant/process level 154 may optionally include an intermediate network 160 that may couple control network 54 to other business level applications. Plant/process level 154 is coupled to data service level 156 by network 162. Data service level 156 is coupled to mobile service level 158 by network 164. Mobile service level 158 includes one or more other networks such as the Internet and/or mobile phone/data networks. Each of the layers 154, 156, 158, and indeed each of the networks, may be separated from the others by hardware and/or software firewalls, in addition to other security measures. The layered architecture allows for separation between the various networks 54, 160, 162, 164, etc.

At the plant/process level 154, a communicator interface 170 provides an interface between the controller 40 and the process plant 10 on one side, and a data service level 156 on the other side. Although a single communicator interface 170 is shown in FIG. 1L as communicating with a single controller 40 (and thus a single process plant 10 ), the communicator interface 170 is There may be communication with multiple controllers 40 controlling a single process plant, with different areas being controlled by separate controllers 40. It is also contemplated that in embodiments, multiple process control systems 10 may be coupled to data service level 156 and to mobile service level 158 by multiple communicator interfaces 170. In certain embodiments, a communicator interface 170 couples to each process control system 10 and a group of communicator interfaces 170 couples to data service level 156. It is also envisioned that multiple control systems may be physically located at different locations (eg, different chemical plants).

The communicator interface 170 may be part of a larger portal 171 that provides an overall interface to data and mobile service levels 156 and 158, respectively. Portal 171 may include features such as facilitating configuration of user information, device and system information, and software/hardware licenses.

Also at the plant/process level 154 , a file interface 172 functions to transmit configuration files 74 to the data services level 156 . In some embodiments, file interface 172 is part of a dedicated one of workstations 30, 32 used to configure process plant 10, such as graphical configuration system 34 and configuration editor 35. including. In other embodiments, file interface 172 may be part of communicator interface 170. In any case, file interface 172 couples to data service level 156 and transmits process plant configuration data to data service level 156 .

At data service level 156 , data server 174 includes several different data services 176 that collectively receive data from communication interface 170 and file interface 172 and communicate the received data to mobile service level 158 . Data received from the plant/process level 154 and communicated to the mobile service level 158 includes alarms, process parameters, diagnostics, historical data, and configuration data. Various data services 176 are also responsible for indexing configuration files 74 received from file interface 172. The indexing operation identifies specific module parameters and module hierarchies, etc., to support advanced search capabilities that may allow users to search for parameter names, device tags, alarms, or other data of process plant 10. may include indexing information on the information.

Mobile server 178 is the center of mobile service level 158. Mobile server 178 supports connection to mobile device 14, supports configuration of various lists to which mobile device 14 is subscribed (e.g., alarm list, watch list, etc.), provides search capabilities, and Manage notifications. Mobile server 178 is also responsible for creating and maintaining subscriptions to various data from data services 176. Mobile server 178 may be configured to provide mobile (“mobile '') to the mobile device 14 via any of a variety of wireless data technologies that may include infrastructure.

Mobile device 14 may be a mobile device running the Android mobile operating system developed by Google, a mobile device running the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple, or any other device now known or developed in the future. May include other operating systems. For mobile devices 14 running Android and/or iOS mobile operating systems, notifications may be sent via Apple or Google notification services 182, as those familiar with the use of such services will readily understand. may be delivered to mobile device 14. Mobile server 178 facilitates configuration of notification services at the system level and/or user level.

Regarding configuration of mobile information distribution, mobile server 178 provides several configuration services via a mobile device interface on mobile device 14. Mobile server 178 also provides configuration options via a web page (ie, using a web browser). As described below, various alarm lists and watchlists can be configured using searches (i.e., searching indexed data in configuration file 74) and/or filters, and system hierarchy information, functional classification, alarm priorities, etc. Can be configured via the web interface using rankings, alarm categories, etc. Further details of the configuration of the system are provided in later sections of this specification.

The availability of configuration data at the mobile service level 158 serves to provide a particularly rich mobile environment for end users because the system has access not only to the data but also to the relationships between the data. As an example, instead of having only the status of an alarm (e.g., active) or the status of a parameter value (e.g., normal, high, low, etc.), the mobile server 178 can determine the data and data type by configuration data from the configuration file 74. have access to the contextual relationships between Therefore, the system determines that a particular active alarm is the result of a parameter status that is "high" and, similarly, that the parameter status is "high" because the parameter data exceeds a certain limit. can be determined. As a result of this rich contextual information available to the mobile server 178, the user interface is operable to present data in context; for example, alarms can be shown with real-time data and history, or process Variables may be shown with current and past setpoint values and, optionally, associated module relationships, allowing the user to extract data from a single data base based on relationships between process control devices, functional blocks, etc. It may be possible to move to other related data.

Process Data Configuration and Communication As more fully described elsewhere herein, systems and methods are disclosed for providing process data associated with a process plant to a remote computing device. Process data may include data communicated from controller 40 via communicator interface 170, from process database 58, or via process plant network 10. In some embodiments, process data may include additional data about the process plant, such as data stored in data historian 62, knowledge repository 64, or data received from specialized server 186, or the like. Can be extended by additions. Additional data may include historical data of past operations of the process plant, summary data associated with past or current operations of the plant, batch data associated with batches running or scheduled to run in the process plant, and batch data associated with the operations of the plant. It may include scheduling data, maintenance data associated with the process plant, business data regarding economics or profitability of the process plant, or other information associated with the operation of the process plant. Process data (and additional data, if applicable) may be generated by or be associated with information generated by components within a process control system that controls the operation of some or all of the process plant, such as the DCS 22. It can be derived from

Process data (and any additional data) is provided to remote computing devices through data server 174 and mobile server 178. Data server 174 may implement data services 176 to obtain data via process control network 162 and communicate with mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. These networks 162 and 164 may be separated by an existing firewall 166, thereby allowing secure communication using existing network architecture. To ensure network communications and protect the process control system from unauthorized access, in a particularly preferred embodiment, data server 174 may only accept requested data lists from mobile server 178. In such preferred embodiments, data server 174 may send a polling request for such a list to mobile server 178. In response to the poll request, mobile server 178 may send a list of requested data to data server 174. In further embodiments, data server 174 may be configured to accept only requested data lists from mobile server 178, and such lists may only be accepted in response to polling requests. For example, data server 174 may be configured to accept requested data lists from known mobile servers 178 only during a predetermined period of time after sending each poll request to mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 may similarly be configured to only send data request lists to data server 174 only in response to receiving a polling request from data server 174 .

Based on the received list of requested data, data server 174 may obtain process data from the process control system via process control network 162. This may include requesting or subscribing to a data stream from one or more components within the process control system, such as process data associated with a particular controller 40 or field device 46, 48. . In some embodiments, the process data obtained by data server 174 or communicated to mobile server 178 may include only L1 data from the process control system. As used herein, "L1 data" refers to the process control system's workstations 30, 32 (e.g., display graphics and process entity visualization), controllers 40, or field data in controlling the operation of a process plant. Refers to process data generated by or used by or within devices 44-46. In other embodiments, additional data may be included. Data server 174 may further obtain data from additional components through process control network 10 if additional data is requested in the requested data list. Such additional data may include, by way of example and not limitation, one or more of the following: key performance indicators (KPIs), batch information, maintenance information, economic information, equipment or conditions within the process plant. Knowledge base, decision support information, or schedule information regarding information about. Data server 174 thus obtains multiple data values from the process control system. The data values may be specific process parameter values, such as sensor output values, process flow values, material input or output values, equipment operating condition values, derived or inferred values, control module parameter values, or operator workstation values. 30, 32 may represent any other value of the type of data generated by or maintained within the process control system, including graphical display elements that may be used. Once the data values are obtained from the process control system, data server 174 may then identify or select any of the received data values that correspond to the requested data indicated in the list to send to mobile server 178. Data server 174 then communicates the identified data value to mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. In a preferred embodiment, data server 174 receives requested process data values and generates them within the process control system as they become available (i.e., with only normal communication delays). ), and sends them to the mobile server 178 in substantially real time. Accordingly, data server 174 may receive multiple data streams from entities within the process control system and may further transmit one or more data streams to mobile server 178 to establish a real-time data subscription.

Once mobile server 178 receives the requested data values from data server 174, mobile server 178 further identifies one or more remote computing devices to receive one or more sets of data values. Mobile server 178 then communicates with each remote computing device via a mobile network, which may include remote access network 164, the Internet 180, or other network that facilitates communication between mobile server 178 and remote computing devices. communicating a set of data values to the processing device. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the mobile network may be an external network (eg, the Internet 180) that is not associated with the process control system or process plant. In a particularly preferred embodiment, mobile server 178 communicates the set of data values to the remote computing device in substantially real time as the data values are received from data server 174. Accordingly, a remote computing device may receive a data stream of process data values from a process control system. The remote computing device may be the mobile device 14 described above, eg, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, or other advanced mobile computing device. Remote computing devices can also include notebooks, netbooks, desktops, etc. that are located remotely from the process plant and that communicate with the mobile server 178 via a web client 198 (e.g., a web browser or an application running therein). or similar computers. In any case, the remote computing device communicates with the mobile server 178 over the mobile network to obtain process data values from the process control system. In particularly preferred embodiments, the remote access device only receives process data from the mobile server 178 and does not otherwise communicate with the process control network. Accordingly, in such embodiments, remote access devices may access process control network 10 or process control systems other than in the limited manner described herein through mobile server 178 and data server 174. Can not do it.

Such a configuration limits the remote computing device's access to receiving requested data via the mobile server 178 (which itself only receives data from the data server 174). This enhances the security of process control systems. These additional safeguards ensure that the process Important in control systems. Significant injury and damage to the process plant can occur if an unauthorized user gains control of equipment within the process plant. Even without controls, unauthorized users can leverage non-public information (which may include trade secrets) about process plant operations to cause commercial harm to plant operators. In conventional process plants, these issues are partially addressed by physical security measures, such as restricting access to workstations 30, 32 and other sensitive equipment. However, remote access requires new means of securing a process plant beyond its physical boundaries. While security can be achieved by limiting or eliminating access to process data from remote locations, such limitations may limit access to process plant personnel who require access to ensure proper operation of the plant. This will prevent information about the plant from reaching the customer.

To address both issues simultaneously, the systems and methods described herein enable remote computing devices to access process data via a mobile server 178 that communicates with data server 174. . To obtain data, the remote computing device requests data values associated with the data list from mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 then sends one or more lists of requested data to data server 174 in response to the polling request. In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may generate a consolidated list of requested data from data lists received from multiple remote access devices. Upon receiving the data value from data server 174, mobile server 178 then determines, based on the data list, which of the remote computing devices have the requested data corresponding to the received data value. Determine. In any event, mobile server 178 identifies the data value received from data server 174 and communicates the appropriate data value to one or more remote computing devices via the mobile network. To identify the appropriate data values to communicate to each remote computing device, mobile server 178 uses a data list associated with each remote computing device.

The data list may be received from a remote computing device or may be identified by a data list indicator received from the remote computing device. For example, a remote computing device may request data values associated with a predetermined data list stored in the memory of mobile server 178 by sending an indicator of the predetermined data list to mobile server 178. Such a request may be automatically generated by the remote computing device under certain conditions, or the request may be generated upon action of a user of the remote computing device. The indicated data list may be a data list previously established by a user of the remote computing device or may be a shared data list that is available to multiple remote access device users. A data list is a watch list that shows process parameters for monitoring a process control system, a view list that is associated with a data view that you want to display on a remote computing device (in certain, but not all, embodiments, on a workstation). (corresponding to available operator views), an alarm list indicating alarms to monitor, or other types of data received at the remote computing device. Each list may include multiple entries identifying data sources (or additional data sources associated with additional data) within the process control system. Entries are process controls that generate or otherwise provide process data or additional data associated with a process plant, such as sensors, valves, control modules, functional blocks, controllers, instrumentation, process devices, or areas. May be associated with an entity within the system. Entries may similarly be associated with process parameters associated with operation of the process plant or conditions within the process plant by the process control system. Entries may be hierarchically related, such that some parameters or entities may be a subset of the data associated with higher level parameters or entities. For example, a region of a process plant may include a number of process equipment, each of which may further include one or more instrument units, and each instrument unit may further be associated with one or more control modules. The control module may further be associated with multiple process parameters. Thus, the data list may directly or indirectly reference the data received, for example by requesting the data for a higher level entity.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the data list may be based on the same configuration data available to on-premise operators. Specifically, the data list may be generated based on configuration file 74 from the process control system. Such configuration file 74 may be received from controller 40, configuration database 60, or file interface 172. The configuration file 74 may contain information regarding the configuration of the process control system used by the controller 40 of the workstations 30, 32 in the operation of the process control system. As a specific example, the configuration file may be an FHX configuration file used in the DeltaV™ control system sold by Emerson Process Management. Configuration data may include multiple entries associated with entities or parameters within the process plant. Each entry may contain multiple items of information about the entry or parameters, which may be described by tags in the configuration data. Such tags may identify characteristics of entities or parameters, data values associated with them, and other similar information. Tags may further indicate relationships to other entities within the process control system, such as higher level entities. In some embodiments, entries include area tags (e.g., PLANT_AREA) for different levels within the process control system.
NAME="AREA_A"), process equipment tags (e.g., PROCESS_CELL NAME="PROCESSCELL1"), equipment tags (e.g., BATCH_EQUIPMENT_UNIT NAME="UNIT1"), control module tags (e.g., MODULE TAG="MODULE1") ), or module It may include a separate tag, such as a block tag (eg, MODULE_BLOCK NAME="MODULE1"). Accordingly, a module may have a tag that associates the module with a process plant area and equipment device, as well as the module. In further embodiments, the tag may include a path that associates the entity or parameter with a higher level entity. From these tags, the complete system architecture of the process control system can be determined. Thus, the remote computing device may request any process data within the process control system based on the configuration data.

In some embodiments, data server 174 may obtain configuration data from the process control system via process control network 156, which may include one or more configuration files 74. Data server 174 may then send configuration data to mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. Configuration data may be sent periodically without a request from mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 may then store the configuration data locally within mobile server 178 memory for communication to or retrieval by a remote computing device. Configuration data may also be sent from the mobile server 178 to the remote computing device, or the remote computing device retrieves the configuration data based on query parameters sent from the remote computing device to the mobile server 178. You may. The remote computing device or mobile server 178 may then generate a data list based on the configuration data. In embodiments where complete configuration data associated with the process control system (or portion thereof) is sent to the mobile server 178, the complete authorized user of the remote computing device is the user's workstation 30, 32 within the process plant. You can access any information within the process control system (or any part thereof) as if you were operating it in full. However, as discussed above, in preferred embodiments, a user may only be able to obtain data from the process control system, rather than control its operation. Nevertheless, full on-the-fly access from a remote computing device to retrieve process data and configure user displays allows remote users to access the same data they can access on the premises of a process plant. improve process plant operations by providing access to and displays; Additionally, as at workstations 30, 32, available data relationships (which may be determined from configuration file 74) drive the content of information displayed on the mobile device. That is, certain parameters, values indicated, optionally in part by the logic and configuration of the process control system, and optionally in part by the status of the system (e.g., based on alarm conditions, equipment conditions, etc.) , status, and alarm, as well as their parameters, values, status, and presentation of the alarm are both determined. Authorization via user credentials verification (e.g. via certificates, logins, etc.) or whitelisting of devices naturally limits user access to some of the total data generated by or relating to process data. can be used to limit Even so, the data available to each user via the remote computing device may be the same data that is available to the user from the workstations 30, 32 within the process plant.

Alarms, prompts, and other notifications of conditions within the process plant are of particular interest in this regard. Any alarm in the process control system can be selected by simply including it in the data list. Additionally, any process parameter in the process control system may be monitored by inclusion in the data list as well. In some embodiments, the user of the remote computing device may request any process data of the process control system by including it in a data list or otherwise communicating such criteria to the mobile server 178. may set notification or alarm criteria associated with. Mobile server 178 can then monitor the indicated process data and send any requested notifications, prompts, or alarms to the remote computing device when corresponding criteria are met. Because data server 174 sends requested process data values to mobile server 178 in substantially real time as they become available, mobile server 178 sends requested notifications or alarms to remote computers in substantially real time. can be sent to a streaming device. This is especially important because conditions within the process plant may require immediate attention from the process plant operator. For example, a critical alarm condition may require correction within minutes to avoid system failure that can result in injury or damage as well as significant plant downtime. The systems and methods described herein utilize existing network infrastructure, where available, and by providing access to process parameter level data rather than periodic updates of summary data. , facilitating the presentation of alarms and notifications in real time. In further embodiments, mobile server 178 may utilize a notification service to push notifications or alarms to remote computing devices. Such notification services may include third party services such as those associated with major operating system accounts or mobile phone network operators. Such notification services may cause the remote computing device to receive and present notifications or alarms to the user regardless of whether the user is currently interacting with an associated application or program on the remote computing device.

While mobile server 178 may send requested notifications or alarms to remote computing devices in substantially real time, mobile server 178 may also implement delayed notifications in embodiments. For example, in embodiments, particularly (but not limited to) with respect to batch processes, the mobile server 178 may be configured to send notifications for a particular prompt or alarm only if the prompt or alarm is not acknowledged for a predetermined period of time. can be programmed. In a batch process, for example, a prompt may indicate to an operator that some action is to be taken, that a phase or procedure has been completed, etc., as is commonly known. It is urgent for any operator or person monitoring the batch via a remote computing device to be immediately notified about the prompt so that the operator currently responsible for operating the batch can respond to the prompt promptly. It may not be the case. However, if an operator or other person who is not directly responsible for the batch at a given time nevertheless does not acknowledge the prompt for a given period of time (e.g., for 5 minutes); The operator may wish to be notified about a prompt (indicating that the operator is absent, not presented with the prompt, or not responding to the prompt for any reason). Accordingly, mobile server 178 may receive information about the prompt, and if the prompt remains pending without being acknowledged for a predetermined (e.g., configured) period of time, mobile server 178 may receive information about the prompt. may notify the user(s) of the gaming device. In embodiments, individual users may select which alarms and prompts to receive immediate notifications, which alarms and prompts to receive delayed notifications, and/or the time of delay for delayed notifications. Further, by default, the mobile server 178 sends instant notifications of other default or user-selected prompts, alerts, or alarms, while sending notifications of a type or class of notifications (e.g., prompts from a batch process, specific recipes, etc.). , prompts related to specific phases of one or more recipes, prompts related to specific equipment, etc.). Alternatively, if the mobile server 178 sends immediate notifications by default for certain types or classes of notifications, while delaying the sending of other default or user-selected prompts, alerts, or alarms. There is.

These features of the systems and methods described herein require that any data that may be viewed on a mobile device must be stored in an intermediate storage location that is accessed by third party software, thereby The amount of information available to the user of the device is limited (e.g., the user can only access stored data or alarms recreated within an intermediate application), and the sample rate is too slow on the DCS. This is in contrast to prior art third party systems where differences between the data shown on the mobile device (eg, at the workstations 30, 32) and the data shown on the mobile device result in data lag. Further, in contrast to prior art third party systems, the systems and methods described herein allow users to navigate the system's data depending on what is presented (e.g., alarms Select an alarm to view real-time and/or historical process variables, status, etc. that led to its generation, or view related information (e.g. limits), module relationships (e.g. hierarchy), etc. available within the DCS. (selecting alarms for viewing) provides a level of context for data that is unavailable and unattainable in prior art systems.

Exemplary embodiments are described below to provide additional information regarding certain aspects of the systems and methods described above. Although particular embodiments are described in detail to illustrate particular aspects, other configurations or processes are contemplated within the scope of this application. Additional, fewer, or alternative components or actions may be included in other embodiments.

Data List Configuration As discussed above, the remote computing device receives data from the process control system based on a data list that requests process data or additional data from the data server 174. In some embodiments, this may include generating or selecting a data list. In further embodiments, this may include searching and monitoring process data as a data list. In any event, entries in the data list may be selected based on configuration data received from the process control system. Unlike other techniques that provide limited, predetermined types of process data to remote computing devices, the method described below provides full access to any L1 data in a process control system. Additionally, configuration data already used by the process control system is also used to generate the data list, thereby simplifying system setup and configuration. As such, the systems and methods described herein require little initial configuration and ongoing maintenance while facilitating greater access to process data.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example data list configuration method 200 that uses configuration data from a process control system to obtain a data list indicative of process data to be communicated to a remote computing device. Data list configuration method 200 may be implemented by either data server 174 or mobile server 178, or both data server 174 and mobile server 178 may implement portions of method 200. Method 200 begins at block 201, where data server 174 or mobile server 178 receives configuration data from a process control system. Configuration data indicates multiple entities or parameters within a process control system or process plant (or a portion thereof). In some embodiments, configuration data may be received from the configuration database or file interface 172 as one or more configuration files 74. The configuration file may include a description of entities and parameters within the process control system, which may include information used by the process control system to control operations of the process plant. Configuration data may include indicators of various levels of entities, parameters, or other data within the process control system, including L1 data. In particularly preferred embodiments, the configuration data may include sufficient information to construct a complete hierarchy of all data levels for all L1 data in the process control system or portion thereof. For example, configuration file 74 may include entries for all parameters in a process control system, such as process parameters associated with functional blocks within a module. Such entries in configuration file 74 may further include associating these parameters with higher level entities in the process control system, such as control modules, equipment, or regions. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration file 74 may further include additional entries for higher level entities, which may include indicators of entities and associated entities or parameters (e.g., equipment entity entries may include , may include indications of multiple control module entities associated with the equipment entity, and the control module entity entry may include indications of other control modules, functional blocks, or parameters associated with the present control module entity).

At block 202, the data server 174 or mobile server 178 identifies multiple levels within the process control system (or portions thereof) based on configuration data. These levels may be associated with any or all of regions, process devices, equipment, control modules, module blocks, or parameters. Entities or parameters may be related within higher level entities, and higher level entities may be related to lower level entities or parameters. As such, the configuration of a process control system (or a portion thereof) may be described as a hierarchy of entities and parameters. Identification of a level may include identifying tags associated with the level for entities and parameters in the configuration data. For example, each entry in the configuration data corresponding to an entity or parameter may include one or more tags indicating an association with a higher level entity. Such tags may be separated by level (e.g., area tag, equipment tag, control module tag) or specify a path within a process control system hierarchy (e.g., an associated higher level within one tag value). may be combined into one tag (specifying an entity). At block 203, the data server 174 or mobile server 178 may further identify a plurality of control modules associated with the level in the configuration data. Control modules may be identified in a manner similar to that used for other levels of identification, which may include identification of control module tags within process control data. Identification of the control module may further include identification of functional blocks or parameters associated with the control module. In some embodiments, level and control module identification may be combined.

At block 204, the data server 174 or mobile server 178 generates a hierarchical list of process control systems (or portions thereof) based on the identified levels and control modules. Each entity or parameter may be arranged in an ordered hierarchy that represents the configuration of the process control system (or part thereof). The hierarchical list is generated using multiple levels identified in the configuration data and values of entities and parameters associated with the control module. The configuration of a process control system (or part thereof) may be described as a collection of nested sets, each set containing elements that correspond to lower-level entities or parameters, and some of these elements may be a subset containing even lower level entities or parameters. In some embodiments, these sets or subsets may be overlapping, meaning that an element may be encompassed by multiple sets at the same level. In other embodiments, these sets or subsets may be non-overlapping, ie each element belongs to at most one set at each level. Each set may be identified as a sublist or group of entries in the hierarchical list that have common values within a region. To this end, a hierarchical list may contain entries for all L1 data in the associated process control system (or part thereof), each representing a separate set or subset of roles associated with a higher level entity. Can be organized in a manner that achieves upcategorization. As such, entities may be treated as rollup categories for user selection or generation of view lists, watch lists, alarm lists, etc.

In some embodiments, one or more hierarchical lists are generated according to display objects in use in process plant network 10. That is, the process plant network 10, and in particular the controller(s) 40 and/or the workstation(s) 30 or 32 and/or the configuration database 60, may be stored in corresponding memory devices and may be stored in multiple Display objects manage the manner in which information is presented to operators of process plant network 10. Specifically, each display object includes a depiction of and/or information corresponding to a plurality of process plant entities, such as field devices 44, 46. For example, the overview display may include all of the data and/or parameters determined to be important in a section of the process plant. The display object is part of the L1 data and/or part of the configuration file 74. Thus, in some embodiments, method 200 may include creating one or more watchlists from configuration file 74, and particularly creating one or more watchlists according to display object data. A default watchlist may be created to include all of the parameters/data associated with a particular display object. A set of default watchlists may be created such that each includes parameters/data associated with a corresponding display object. Of course, the default watchlist may be editable as described herein. In a further embodiment, the watchlists are automatically updated when the configuration of the associated display object is updated in the configuration file 74, and in further embodiments, the data/parameters that can be added to each watchlist are updated automatically when the configuration of the associated display object is updated in the configuration file 74. The configuration file 74 is updated according to the configured configuration file 74.

Additionally, a user may select an area, unit, or cell of process plant 10, and a watchlist may be created to include some or all of the modules in the module unit, area, or cell. , or a module in which a limit alarm is configured.

Alarm lists also allow operators to monitor alarms that they have set as important to their operational responsibilities even when they are not physically present in the plant and/or at their workstations 30, 32. , can be automatically created to adapt the alarm configuration of individual operator stations. Alarm filter criteria specified in configuration file 74, including alarm priority, functionality, and notification settings, may also be used to automatically create alarm lists available for selection for monitoring in the mobile application. As a result, a user of the mobile device may select a predetermined list of alarms to monitor, edit a predetermined list, create a new list of alarms to monitor, and so on.

Of course, with respect to batch data that may be viewed or monitored in any of the watchlists, the alarm list and watchlist may each be automatically configured according to a particular batch, a particular recipe, a particular set of batch equipment, etc.

At block 205, data server 174 or mobile server 178 may communicate information regarding the hierarchical list to another computing device. Such information may be communicated periodically or when changes in the hierarchical list occur (eg, addition of new entities or parameters, removal of existing entries, etc.). Such information may similarly be communicated in summary form or as an indication of only changed information. The other computing device may be a remote computing device or may be a mobile server 178. Once the hierarchical list is generated by data server 174, data server 174 may communicate information regarding the hierarchical list to mobile server 178. In some embodiments, data server 174 may only communicate changed entries in the hierarchical list when changes occur. In further embodiments, data server 175 may communicate the complete hierarchical list periodically to check accuracy, with the complete list being communicated less frequently (e.g., once per day, once per week). , once a month). Once the hierarchical list is generated by mobile server 178, mobile server 178 may communicate information about the hierarchical list to one or more remote computing devices (eg, mobile device 14). In some embodiments, this information may include a limited list of entries in a hierarchical list. For example, the restricted list may include entries that the user or remote computing device is authorized to access. As another example, a restricted list may include only high level entries (eg, entries associated with regions or process equipment). As yet another example, a restricted list may include requests from a remote computing device or It may include only entries associated with the search parameters of the query. As yet another example, the restricted list may include only entries associated with entities, eg, entities preselected by a user of the remote computing device.

At block 206, data server 174 or mobile server 178 receives selections of one or more entries from other computing devices. This selection may indicate a set of entries in the hierarchical list requested by other computing devices. For example, a remote computing device may send indicators to mobile server 178 to select particular parameters or entities for which to receive process data. Continuing with this example, mobile server 178 may further send indicators of the selected parameters or entities to data server 174. In some embodiments, this selection may be received as an indication of a predetermined set of entries (eg, a preconfigured viewing list or watchlist) stored in memory of data server 174 or mobile server 178. For example, an identifier associated with a predetermined viewing list may be received by mobile server 178, and the data list may include the requested entries.

At block 208, data server 174 or mobile server 178 may communicate data values corresponding to the selected entry to other computing devices. This may include communicating process data values from data server 174 to mobile server 178, or communicating process data values from mobile server 178 to a remote computing device. In some embodiments, this may include sending one or more streams of process data values substantially in real time as the process data values are received by data server 174 or mobile server 178. To this end, a remote computing device may subscribe to one or more data streams associated with entities or parameters within the process control system. In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may further communicate additional data or historical process data (eg, process data associated with the selected entry for past hours, days, etc.). Such data may provide context to a user of a remote computing device and may be presented as discussed elsewhere herein. Communication of process data values is further detailed elsewhere herein.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example configuration data retrieval method 210 for retrieving configuration data from a process control system to generate a data list indicative of process data to be communicated to a remote computing device. Data list configuration method 210 may be implemented by either data server 174 or mobile server 178, or both data server 174 and mobile server 178 may implement portions of method 210. However, in a preferred embodiment, method 210 is implemented by mobile server 178, which receives configuration data from data server 174 and queries from a remote computing device. In such embodiments, the mobile server further receives process data values from data server 174 and transmits process data values to the remote computing device based on the data list.

As described above with respect to block 201, method 210 begins at block 211, where data server 174 or mobile server 178 receives configuration data from a process control system. At block 212, data server 174 or mobile server 178 receives a query from another computing device requesting process data, the query indicating one or more search parameters associated with the process data. Queries may be responsive to user selection of search parameters, for example, by the user directly entering search terms, or by common query parameters (e.g., current alarms, running batches, historical process data for plant operations, etc.). ) may be generated by other computing devices. The search parameters may specify particular entities or process parameters within the process control system, each of which may be identified by, for example, a user-friendly tag name or a unique identifier number. Alternatively, the search parameters may indicate the type or class of entity, such as level, process function, equipment unit type, alarm type, control module type, sensor signal type, etc. Besides identifying entities or process parameters, query parameters may specify other information. For example, query parameters may include process data values, time frames for historical or summary data (e.g., averages), other information to identify process data generated within a process control system, or associated with a process plant. A particular value (or range of values) may be specified for additional non-process data that is not generated within the process control system.

At block 213, data server 174 or mobile server 178 identifies one or more entities or process parameters associated with the process control system based on the search parameters of the received query. As discussed above, configuration data may include tags that include information about entities or parameters within the process control system. Tag values may be used to identify process data or parameters that respond to a query, ie, match query parameters. For example, some of the search parameters may be tags for entities or parameters in the configuration data, such as values that indicate a particular area, equipment unit, alarm condition, or type of data (e.g., "temperature", "pressure", etc.). It may also indicate the associated value.

At block 214, data server 174 or mobile server 178 generates a list of entries based on the search parameters. The list of entries may include multiple entries indicating identified entities or parameters. In some embodiments, the list may further include an entry indicating a defined list (eg, a shared viewing list) that includes entries associated with the identified entity or parameter. In further embodiments, this list may include related entries that are associated with the identified entity or parameter, but that do not individually match the search parameters. For example, each higher level entity associated with the matching entity or parameter may be included in this list. Because related entries do not directly match the search parameters, related entries may be marked in the list or included in a separate list to identify them as not directly responding to the query. obtain. These related entries may then be presented to the user separately from the identified entity or parameter, or the related entries may be indicated by pictorial or stylistic indicators in the graphical user interface. Creating the list may include determining a subset of identified entities or parameters that a user or remote computing device is authorized to obtain. Such authentication may be determined based on the user's user ID or the remote computing device's device ID.

At block 215, the data server 174 or mobile server 178 communicates the generated list to the requesting computing device (eg, a remote computing device). In some embodiments, this may involve sending only some of the information regarding the entry to the requesting computing device, and then sending additional information upon further requests by the user. Upon receiving the list from mobile server 178, the remote computing device may present at least a portion of the list information to the user. This may involve presenting a list of entries, organized or ordered to provide the most relevant or most frequently selected entries in a more prominent position on the display. It's okay to be hit. When a user selects one or more sets of entries (e.g., to add an entry to a viewing list, create a new watchlist, etc.), the remote computing device may select one or more sets of entries from the mobile Server 178 may communicate back. In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may communicate an indication of the selected set of entries to the data server in response to a poll request from data server 174.

At block 216, data server 174 or mobile server 178 receives a selection of a set of one or more entries from the list. As with other data list selections discussed herein, this selection may be received as a set of indicators of an entry, or as one or more indicators of a predetermined list. In response to receiving the selection, data server 174 or mobile server 178 obtains data values from the process control system and communicates data values associated with the selected entry to the remote computing device at block 217. As discussed elsewhere herein, mobile server 178 receives information from the process control system by sending an indication of the requested process data to data server 174 in response to polling requests from data server 174. Process data or further data may be requested. Data server 174 obtains a plurality of data values from the process control system and communicates the requested data values to mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 then communicates the requested data value associated with the selected entry to the mobile computing device. To this end, a remote computing device may subscribe to one or more data streams associated with entities or parameters within the process control system using queries to identify and request data, as described above. . In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may further communicate additional data or historical process data (eg, process data associated with the selected entry for past hours, days, etc.). Such data may provide context to a user of a remote computing device and may be presented as discussed elsewhere herein.

Process Data Subscription The following systems and methods may be used to securely subscribe a remote computing device to a process data stream and obtain additional data without compromising the security of the process control system. As discussed above, the remote computing device obtains data values from mobile server 178, which in turn may obtain data values from data server 174. Data server 174 obtains data values from a process control system, such as from controller 40 via communicator interface 170, from process database 58, data historian 62, knowledge repository 64, or from specialized server 186. In a preferred embodiment, data server 174 sends a poll request to mobile server 178, and mobile server 178 sends a list of requested data to data server 174 in response only to the poll request. The list of such requested data may include any changed data requests, such as adding or removing data subscriptions (i.e., indicators of new data not previously requested or indicators of data previously requested but no longer requested). indicator). The subscription methods described herein provide access to L1 data from a process control system, as process data subscriptions may be configured as needed as discussed above. Additionally, process data can be communicated to remote computing devices in substantially real time without compromising the security protections in place within the process control system to protect the process plant from malicious or other unauthorized access. . Additionally, mobile server 178 may reduce processing and storage requirements by retrieving only the data that is actually requested while still providing access to all L1 data. Establishing data subscriptions as needed during process plant operation reduces initial setup and later system reconfiguration. As such, the systems and methods described herein facilitate broader and more timely access to process data while requiring less initial configuration and ongoing maintenance.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example data subscription method 220 for selecting and retrieving process data on a remote computing device. The data subscription method 220 may be implemented repeatedly to establish, edit, adjust, or terminate a data subscription for one or more remote computing devices, and the data subscription method 220 is described herein. may be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described in .

At block 221, data server 174 receives configuration file 74 or other configuration data from an entity within the process control system. Configuration file 74 may include configuration data regarding the process control system and may be received from file interface 172 or configuration database 60, as described elsewhere herein. At block 222, the data server 174 may communicate data associated with the configuration file 74 to the mobile server 178, which may include the configuration file 74, a portion of the configuration data contained therein, or the data associated with the configuration file 74. It may involve sending the configuration data generated therefrom. At block 223, mobile server 178 may provide access to configuration data to one or more remote computing devices. Providing access to a remote computing device may include sending a list of available data or establishing an interface for retrieving configuration data. As discussed elsewhere herein, mobile server 178 may configure less than all configurations, in some cases, such as by providing access to portions of the configuration data for which the user is authenticated. May provide access to data.

At block 224, the mobile server 178 receives one or more browse list indicators from the remote computing device via the mobile network to receive process data (and any information requested by the remote computing device from the process control system). additional data). In some embodiments, a user login event on a remote computing device may cause a default browsing list indicator to be automatically sent from the remote computing device to mobile server 178. Such a default browse list indicator may be interpreted by the mobile server 178 as a request for the same data that was last requested by the user. Upon receiving one or more browse list indicators, mobile server 178 may determine or generate a list of requested data. Such a list of requested data may be a consolidated list of all data requested by multiple remote computing devices, and this list may be further compressed by removing redundant entries. Mobile server 178 updates the consolidated list of such requested data each time a new indicator is received from any remote computing device, including an indicator of a remote computing device terminating a previous request. obtain. To facilitate subsequent transmission of data values to appropriate remote computing devices, mobile server 178 may further maintain one or more lists associating requested data with particular remote computing devices. In some embodiments, this relevance data may be included in the consolidated list of requested data. In further embodiments, mobile server 178 may automatically generate a list of requested changes that have been received from remote computing devices since the previous data request was sent to data server 174. may include only entries indicating changes to the requested process data (or additional data). By sending a list of such requested changes rather than an entire list of requested data, mobile server 178 may efficiently communicate with data server 174.

At block 225, data server 174 sends a poll request to mobile server 178 over remote access network 164 requesting information regarding the data requested by the remote computing device. Polling requests may be sent periodically at a slower interval than updates of some process data values, thereby reducing the total data sent over remote access network 164. In response to receiving the poll request, mobile server 178 subsequently transmits the list of requested data to data server 174 via remote access network 164 at block 226 . As mentioned above, in some embodiments the list of requested data may be a consolidated list or even a list of requested changes. In a preferred embodiment, mobile server 178 may send the list only in response to receiving a poll request from data server 178. In further embodiments, data server 174 may be configured to accept the list of requested data only from mobile server 178 and only for a predetermined interval after each polling request. Non-compliant requests may be ignored by data server 174. In an alternative embodiment, data server 174 may accept a list of requested data (particularly a list of modified requests) from mobile server 178 from time to time. Such embodiments may be advantageous because the delay before data values are transmitted from data server 174 to mobile server 178 is reduced.

At block 227, data server 174 receives a stream of process data from the process control system via process control network 162. Process data may be received from one or more data sources within the process control system, including one or more of controller 40 via communicator interface 170, process database 58, or via process plant network 10. can be communicated. In some embodiments, data server 174 may subscribe to one or more data sources by communicating requests for specific data from the data sources. Such requested subscriptions may further be generated based on the list of data requested from mobile server 178. In further embodiments, data server 174 may further obtain additional data requested by mobile server 178 from data historian 62, knowledge repository 64, or specialized server 186.

At block 228, data server 174 identifies data values in the received data that are further transmitted to mobile server 178. Data server 174 may identify process data values in the data stream that correspond to requested data in the list of data requested from mobile server 178 . At block 229, data server 174 then transmits the identified data value to mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. To reduce network traffic on remote access network 164, data server 174 may send only updated or changed data values associated with requested process data. For example, unchanged data values may not be transmitted, or may be transmitted only as an indicator of unchanged values. In alternative embodiments, data server 174 may transmit data values in real time as they are received from the process control system, or data server 174 may transmit data values at intervals. You can also send it as a group. If transmitted in real time, data values may be transmitted as a data stream from data server 174 to mobile server 178. If sent at intervals, data server 174 may group data values received from the process control system at various times over an interval that may be a fixed period or an irregular period. For example, data server 174 may send data values to mobile server 178 at regular intervals (e.g., every second) unless the required amount of data (e.g., 5 MB) is received from the process control system prior to the periodic transmission. Good too.

At block 230, mobile server 178 similarly identifies and transmits a subset of the received data values to the remote computing device via the mobile network. Mobile server 178 may select the subset based on entries in the browse list indicated by the remote computing device. In alternative embodiments, mobile server 178 may transmit the subset of data values in real time as they are received from data server 174, or mobile server 178 may transmit the data values at intervals. You can also send it as a group. For example, data values may be grouped and sent periodically (eg, every second) to reduce the number of transmissions over a cellular network. In further embodiments, the mobile server 178 may communicate the data values in real time, but the third party network (e.g., a mobile phone network) may communicate the data values in groups on a regular transmission schedule. Good too. However, once received by the mobile computing device, at least some of the data values of the subset are presented to the user at block 231. Such presentations may include presentations as notifications, charts, icons, or other summary presentations based on portions of data values.

FIG. 2D illustrates communications between the process control system (specifically, file interface 172 and communicator interface 170), data server 174, mobile server 178, and remote computing device (specifically, mobile device 14). 3 illustrates an example data subscription communication sequence illustrating a data subscription communication sequence. Although the connections are shown in a straight line to better illustrate the distinguishing features of the sequence, it is understood that intervening components may be involved. For example, controller 40 may communicate configuration data to data server 174 via file interface 172 and may further communicate process data to data server 174 via communicator interface 170. Although variously described herein as being communicated from the controller 40 to the data server 174, in at least some embodiments the configuration data 74 is stored in the configuration database 60 and communicated from the configuration database 60. It should be understood that communication to server 174 is via file interface 172 . That is, file interface 172 may obtain configuration data 74 from configuration database 60 (or from controller 40) and communicate configuration data 74 to data server 174. In any event, communicator interface 170, file interface 172, and data server 174 communicate via process control network 162. Data server 174 and mobile server 178 communicate via remote access network 164. Mobile server 178 and mobile device 14 communicate via a mobile network, which may include a local network at a process plant (e.g., part of remote access network 164), a notification service 196, or the Internet 180. good. Although the example sequence depicts only one of each of the file interface 172, data server 174, mobile server 178, and mobile device 14 for clarity, further embodiments may include any of these components. It may include a plurality of any of them or all of them.

The exemplary communication sequence begins with communication of configuration file 74 from file interface 172 to data server 174 (line 232). Upon receiving configuration file 74, data server 174 determines and sends configuration data that may be part of the information contained in configuration file 74 to mobile server 178 (line 233). Mobile server 178 then provides configuration data, or a portion thereof, to mobile device 14 (line 234). When a data request is received from a user or otherwise determined at mobile device 14, mobile device 14 sends a browse list indicator to mobile server 178 (line 235). In the illustrated embodiment, mobile server 178 receives the browse list indicator and waits for polling requests from data server 174. After a certain time interval, data server 174 sends a polling request to mobile server 178 (line 236). In response to receiving the poll request, the mobile server sends the requested data list or an index thereof to data server 174 (line 237). As shown, polling requests may be sent by the data server 174 periodically or at intervals (line 236), and in response to each of them, the requested data list or updates thereto are sent to the mobile. may be returned by server 178.

Data server 174 receives process data associated with controller 40 from communicator interface 170 at various times (line 238), even if these times are periodic with one or more time periods. It may be non-regular (for example, temporary). As shown by line 238, process data may be received even in the absence of a specific data request in some embodiments. When process data is received at data server 174, data server 174 may determine whether the received process data value corresponds to any requested data in the requested data list. When such requested data is identified, data server 174 sends the requested data to mobile server 178 (line 239). Upon receiving the requested data, mobile server 178 may select data values that correspond to the browsing list data requested by mobile device 14. Mobile server 178 then sends the requested browsing list data to mobile device 14 (line 240). This sequence of communicating process data values from communicator interface 170 to data server 174 (line 238), from data server 174 to mobile server 178 (line 239), and from mobile server 178 to mobile device 14 (line 240) , may be repeated during process plant operations until the mobile device 14 terminates the data subscription. A data subscription may be terminated by communication of a termination indicator or a new viewing list indicator that does not request any process data.

FIG. 2E illustrates an example data server communication method 250 for providing process data from data server 174 to mobile server 178. Data server communication method 250 (or a portion thereof) may be repeatedly implemented by data server 174 to provide a data stream or otherwise provide process data values from a process control system to mobile server 178; This method 250 may be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described herein. Although method 250 is described as receiving and communicating process data, data server 174 may also obtain and transmit additional data regarding the process plant to mobile server 178 in some embodiments.

At block 251, data server 174 receives configuration data from the process control system via process control network 162. This configuration data may be received as one or more configuration files 74 from controller 40, file interface 172, or configuration database 60, as discussed elsewhere herein. After receiving the configuration data, data server 174 may further communicate the configuration data to mobile server 178 at block 252. To communicate configuration data, data server 174 may determine a subset of configuration data that has been modified or updated, or may otherwise determine a subset of configuration data to send to mobile device 178. In further embodiments, data server 174 may generate configuration information for transmission to mobile server 178, such as by obtaining summary or hierarchical list information from configuration data received from the process control system.

At block 253, data server 174 sends a polling request to mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. The poll request may instruct mobile server 178 to respond by communicating the requested data list to data server 174. In response to the poll request, mobile server 178 may send a list of requested data to data server 174 via remote access network 164. The list of requested data may include a plurality of requested data parameters and indicates the entity or parameter from the process control system for which the mobile server 178 is requesting data. In some embodiments, this list may further include indicators of additional data associated with the process control system. In further embodiments, this list may include only entries for new, modified, changed, canceled, or updated requested data parameters.

At block 254, data server 174 receives a list of requested data from mobile server 178 via remote access network 164. Data server 174 may then obtain process data values associated with the list of requested data, and (if applicable) data server 174 may add process data values as indicated in the list of requested data. Further data may be obtained. In some embodiments, data server 174 then subscribes to receive process data from one or more controllers 40 or communicator interfaces 170. At block 255, data server 174 receives multiple process data values via process control network 162 that are associated with multiple entities within the process plant. Process data values may include control values, measurements, or other parameter values generated or used within a process control system. In preferred embodiments, process data values may be received as one or more data streams from the process control system in real time as the process data values are generated or updated.

When data server 174 receives process data values, data server 174 then identifies, at block 256, a subset of process data values that correspond to the requested data parameters of the received list of requested data. , to the mobile server 178. Identification of the subset of process data values may involve identifying changed or updated process data values, or process data values associated with newly requested process data by mobile server 178. Similarly, in some embodiments, the identified subset may include indicators of process data values that have been updated but not changed. Thus, a subset of process data values may be identified for efficient communication to mobile server 178. Once the subset of process data values is identified, data server 174 communicates the subset of process data values to mobile server 178 at block 257 . In a preferred embodiment, the identification and communication of the subset of process data values may occur in real time as the process data values are received by data server 174. As such, data server 174 may provide streaming process data subscriptions to the mobile server.

FIG. 2F illustrates communications between the process control system (specifically, file interface 172 and communicator interface 170), data server 174, mobile server 178, and remote computing device (specifically, mobile device 14). 3 illustrates an example data server communication sequence, illustrating an exemplary data server communication sequence. The example data server communication sequence focuses specifically on communications involving data server 174. Although the connections are shown in a straight line to better illustrate the distinguishing features of the sequence, it is understood that intervening components may be involved. For example, controller 40 may communicate configuration data to data server 174 via file interface 172 and may further communicate process data to data server 174 via communicator interface 170. Controller 40 and data server 174 communicate via process control network 162. Data server 174 and mobile server 178 communicate via remote access network 164. Mobile server 178 and mobile device 14 communicate via a mobile network, which may include a local network at a process plant (e.g., part of remote access network 164), a notification service 196, or the Internet 180. good. Although the example sequence depicts only one of each of file interface 172, communicator interface 170, data server 174, mobile server 178, and mobile device 14 for clarity, further embodiments include: It may contain a plurality of any of these components or all of them.

The exemplary communication sequence begins with communication of a configuration data request from data server 174 to file interface 172 (line 258). File interface 172 may obtain configuration data from configuration database 60. In response to the configuration data request, file interface 172 sends configuration data to data server 174 (line 259), which may be sent as configuration file 74 or otherwise. A data server 174 receives configuration data, which is then processed to determine further configuration data (e.g., a subset of the received configuration data, a set of lists based on the configuration data, etc.) to 178. Data server 174 sends configuration data or information associated therewith to mobile server 178 (line 260). At some point thereafter, data server 174 sends a polling request to mobile server 178 (line 261). In response to the poll request, mobile server 178 generates and communicates the requested data list to data server 174 (line 262). The requested data list may include entries indicating process data requested from the process control system requested by the remote computing device, as discussed elsewhere herein.

Based on the requested data list, data server 174 may send a process data request to communicator interface 170 in some embodiments (line 263). The communicator interface 170 may obtain process data from one or more controllers 40 in the process control system. Whether or not an embodiment involves a process data request, data server 174 receives process data from communicator interface 170 (line 264). Upon receiving the process data, data server 174 selects the process data associated with the requested data list for communication to mobile server 174 (line 265). Selecting process data, in some embodiments, includes identifying one or more sets or subsets of process data values that may be identified as including updated or changed process data values. It can be done. Data server 174 then communicates the selected process data to mobile server 178 (line 266). Mobile server 178 may then further communicate the selected process data (or a subset thereof) to mobile device 14, as described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 2G illustrates an example mobile server communication method 270 for selecting, obtaining, and communicating process data to one or more remote computing devices. Mobile server communication method 270 (or a portion thereof) may be repeatedly implemented by mobile server 178 to provide a data stream or otherwise provide process data values from a process control system to a remote computing device. , this method 270 may be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described herein. Although method 270 is described as receiving and communicating process data, mobile server 178 may also obtain and transmit additional data regarding the process plant to a remote computing device in some embodiments.

At block 271, mobile server 178 receives configuration data associated with the process control system from data server 174 via remote access network 164. The configuration data may include one or more configuration files 74, information associated with such files, or other information describing available process data within the process control system. In some embodiments, the mobile server 178 may store a representation of the configuration of the process control system (or a portion thereof) within the memory of the mobile server 178 to improve the speed of retrieval by remote computing devices. good. Data server 174 may then only provide updates or changes to configuration data, which mobile server 178 may use to modify the stored representation of the process control system's configuration. In some embodiments, at block 272, mobile server 178 may communicate some or all of the configuration data to one or more remote computing devices over a mobile network. For example, mobile server 178 may provide entity, parameter, or related information in response to a request to list available process data or in response to a user query, as described elsewhere herein. You may also provide a list.

At block 273, mobile server 178 receives an indication of the browsing list from at least one remote computing device over the mobile network. This indicator may specify process data in the viewing list by data source or parameter, such as by specifying an area within a process control system, a processing device, or a process parameter. The indicator may alternatively specify a predetermined viewing list stored in the memory of the mobile server 178 that may include entries associated with entities or parameters within the process control system. Mobile server 178 may receive multiple such viewing lists from multiple remote computing devices, in which case, in some embodiments, mobile server 178 provides a consolidated list of requested data. More can be produced. Mobile server 178 may further generate a list of requested changes that includes only an indication of changes in the requested process data. Mobile server 178 may continue to receive browsing list indicators from remote computing devices and update the list until a polling request is received from data server 174.

At block 274, mobile server 178 receives a polling request from data server 174 via remote access network 164. In response to receiving the polling request, at block 275, mobile server 178 determines a list of requested data based on one or more indicators of the browse list received from the remote computing device. The mobile server may identify process data requested by the remote computing device based on the predetermined list of indicators. In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may further generate a consolidated list of data requested from multiple remote computing devices. Mobile server 178 may further generate a list of requested changes that includes only an indication of changes in the requested process data. In still further embodiments, mobile server 178 may identify relevant process data for data that is requested based on the context but not specifically requested by the remote computing device. The list of requested process data may include an indication of such pertinent process data to further obtain process data likely to be requested by a user of the remote computing device. At block 276, mobile server 178 then transmits the determined list of requested process data to data server 174 via remote access network 164. The transmitted list of requested process data may be any of the aforementioned lists or other similar lists described herein.

At block 277, mobile server 178 receives a plurality of process data values from data server 174 via remote access network 164. Process data values may include data generated by entities within the process control system and communicated to data server 174 via process control network 162. In some embodiments, the plurality of process data values may include data requested by the plurality of remote computing devices. Accordingly, the mobile server 178 identifies, at block 278, a set of process data values from the received plurality of process data values that correspond to data associated with a particular viewing list. Mobile server 178 may identify a plurality of sets of such process data values, each associated with a viewing list indicated by one or more of the remote computing devices. Each set of process data values includes data values requested directly or indirectly by the remote computing device based on viewing list indicators received from the remote computing device. Once the set of process data values is identified, the mobile server 178 communicates the set of process data values to the corresponding one or more remote computing devices at block 279 via the mobile network. This may include communication via notification service 196, which may be configured to push notifications to remote computing devices.

FIG. 2H illustrates communications between the process control system (specifically, file interface 172 and communicator interface 170), data server 174, mobile server 178, and remote computing device (specifically, mobile device 14). 3 illustrates an example mobile server communication sequence illustrating an example mobile server communication sequence. The example mobile server communication sequence focuses specifically on communications involving mobile server 178. Although the connections are shown in a straight line to better illustrate the distinguishing features of the sequence, it is understood that intervening components may be involved. For example, file interface 172 may communicate configuration data to data server 174 and communicator interface 170 may further communicate process data to data server 174. Controller 40 and data server 174 communicate via process control network 162. Data server 174 and mobile server 178 communicate via remote access network 164. Mobile server 178 and mobile device 14 communicate via a mobile network, which may include a local network at a process plant (e.g., part of remote access network 164), a notification service 196, or the Internet 180. good. Although the example sequence depicts only one of each of file interface 172, communicator interface 170, data server 174, mobile server 178, and mobile device 14 for clarity, further embodiments include: It may contain a plurality of any of these components or all of them.

The exemplary communication sequence begins with communication of configuration data from data server 174 to mobile server 178 (line 280). In some embodiments, mobile server 178 may further communicate configuration data (or a portion thereof) to mobile device 14 (line 281). Mobile device 14 then communicates a browse list indicator to mobile server 178 (line 282), which may include entries associated with entities or parameters within the process control system, or a predetermined list stored at mobile server 178. may also be shown. Mobile server 178 may then wait for a polling request from data server 174. Mobile server 178 periodically receives polling requests from data server 174, which may be sent from data server 174 (line 283). In response to the poll request, mobile server 178 determines a list of requested data based at least in part on the browse list indicators received from mobile device 14 (line 284). In some embodiments, determining the list of requested data includes determining viewing list entries, consolidating viewing list entries for multiple remote computing devices, and requesting modified or updated viewing list entries. May include decisions. When the list of requested data is determined, mobile server 178 sends the list of requested data to data server 174 (line 285).

Data server 174 receives process data from communicator interface 170 (line 286). At least a portion of the received process data is then transmitted from data server 174 to mobile server 178 based on the list of requested data (line 287). Upon receiving process data from data server 174, mobile server 178 determines browse list data that includes process data values associated with the browse list entities or parameters (line 288). Determining the viewing list may include selecting a set of viewing list data values from the process data received for each viewing list associated with one or more mobile devices 14. Mobile server 178 then sends the browsing list data to mobile device 14 (line 289).

FIG. 2I depicts an example browse list subscription sequence illustrating communication between various modules implemented by mobile device 14 and/or mobile server 178. Referring briefly to FIG. 2K, in an exemplary embodiment, the mobile server 178 includes a watchlist module 371, a mobile data services module 372, an application program interface (API) 373, a runtime cache 374, and a user viewing list subscription. Module 375 may be implemented. In an alternative embodiment, watchlist module 371 and mobile data services module 372 may operate on mobile device 14, while runtime cache 374 and user viewing list subscription module 375 operate on mobile server 178. API 373 may be split between mobile device 14 and mobile server 178. A viewing list subscription sequence indicates selecting a viewing list, subscribing to a data stream associated with the viewing list, and disconnecting from the data stream.

Selection of a viewing list begins with a user of mobile device 14 selecting a viewing list on mobile device 14 . An indication of the selection may be communicated by mobile device 14 to watchlist module 371 (line 290). Because the reading list selection indication may not fully specify the data associated with the reading list, the reading list module 371 communicates the reading list selection indication to the mobile data service 372 (line 291) and the reading list selection indication may not fully specify the data associated with the reading list. Service 372 further communicates an indication of the browse list selection to API 373 (line 293). Next, API 373 accesses a database storing definitions for the selected viewing list and reads a viewing list definition that specifies data associated with the viewing list (line 293). The browse list definition is then communicated to the mobile data services module 372 (line 294), which communicates the browse list definition to the watchlist module 371 (line 295). Watchlist module 371 may provide viewing list definitions to mobile device 14 or another module on mobile device 14 to generate user-selected watchlist 296. The user selected watchlist 296 may be presented to the user or the values may be stored for later use.

Subscription to the corresponding data stream begins with the API communicating a subscription request to the user viewing list subscription module 375 in response to the viewing list selection (line 297). User viewing list subscription module 375 adds subscriptions to process data values from the process control system based on the viewing list selection (line 298). Adding a subscription may include requesting process data values from data server 174, as described elsewhere herein. Once the subscription is added, user viewing list subscription module 375 communicates approval of the subscription to API 373 (line 299), and user viewing list subscription module 375 transfers the runtime value from the process control system to runtime cache 374. Communication begins (line 300). Runtime values may be process data values associated with entities or parameters within a process control system, as discussed elsewhere herein.

In an exemplary watch list subscription sequence, watch list module 371 updates runtime values periodically (e.g., every second) or occasionally (e.g., when a user selects an option to view particular data). do. To obtain runtime values, watchlist module 371 sends a latest value request to mobile data services module 372 (line 301), which is further communicated to runtime cache 374 (line 303). When a current value request is received at runtime cache 374, the requested runtime value for the browse list is collected (line 304) and communicated to API 373 (line 305). API 373 then communicates runtime values for the viewing list to mobile services module 372 (line 306), which communicates runtime values to watchlist module 371 (line 307). This sequence may be repeated each time a new runtime value is desired.

When a stop update request is sent from watchlist module 371 to mobile data services module 372, a connection stop from the data stream occurs (line 308) and is further communicated to API 373 (line 309). API 373 communicates a stop update request to user viewing list subscription module 375 (line 310). Upon receiving a stop update request, user viewing list subscription module 375 may stop obtaining runtime values (i.e., process data values) for the viewing list. The user viewing list subscription module 375 also sends a stop update approval message to the API 373 (line 311), which communicates a stop update approval message to the mobile data service module 372 (line 312), which in turn sends a stop update approval message to the mobile data service module 372 (line 312). A stop acknowledgment message is further communicated to watchlist module 371 (line 313).

FIG. 2J shows an example data server 174 in a process control system. Data server 174 is communicatively connected to server 178 via remote access network 164 . Additionally, data server 174 is communicatively connected to multiple components within the process control system via process control network 162. The process control network 162 includes a data server 174 that includes a controller 40, a communicator interface 170 associated with the controller 40, a configuration database 60, a file interface 172 that provides configuration data to the data server 174, and historical process information associated with the process plant. It is connected to a data historian 62 that stores data.

Data server 174 includes data services 176, which may include a number of specialized modules or routines, to facilitate communications. Data services 176 may include a data scanner 314, a configuration module 315, and a data module 316. Configuration module 315 communicates with configuration database 60 or file interface 172 to obtain configuration data for the process control system, such as configuration file 74 . Data module 316 may request and obtain data values from data historian 62, controller 40, or communicator interface 170. Data module 316 may also select received data values for communication to mobile server 178 according to methods discussed elsewhere herein. Data scanner 314 may passively receive streaming process data values from controller 40 or communicator interface 170 via process control network 162 . In some embodiments, data scanner 314 may scan all process data communicated through process control network 162 and a portion of the process data values may then be communicated to mobile server 178. can be identified for. Additional, alternative, or fewer elements may be included in other embodiments of data server 174.

FIG. 2K shows an example mobile server 178 in a process control system. Mobile server 178 is communicatively coupled to mobile device 14 or web client 198 to provide process data, which may include L1 data, to remote users. Application API 317 handles communication of data lists (eg, alarm lists, watch lists, etc.) and related data values between mobile server 178 and a remote computing device (i.e., mobile device 14 or web client 198). Additionally, mobile server 178 may include a notification module 327 that communicates notifications to mobile device 14 via notification service 196, which notification module 327 communicates notifications via third party notification service 182, such as a Google or Apple notification service. You can send more. Application API 317 further handles user authentication and personalization, and to this end, application API 317 may further communicate with authentication server 318 as well as various internal components of mobile server 178. Internal components related to authentication and personalization may include a configuration database 321 and a user customization module 322. Configuration database 321 may further receive information from user module 333 , which receives configuration and personalization data from configuration unit 330 of executive portal (expo) server 179 via data connection 334 . May be processed.

In addition to authentication and personalization components, application API 317 may communicate with search database 319, logging data 320, and memory cache 323. The search database receives configuration data from the search module 332 to facilitate searching available process data within the process control system at the level of L1 data or summary data, as discussed elsewhere herein. It is possible. Search module 332 may receive configuration data from configuration file processor 331 of expo server 179 via data connection 334 . Logging database 320 may store usage metrics for offline analysis. Memory cache 323 communicates with application API 317 and stream processing device 325 to facilitate notifications and manage stored lists 324 .

Stream processing device 325 receives process data values from the process control system via data connection 334 and via runtime scanner 326 . Runtime scanner 326 further obtains process data values from communicator interface 170 of portal 171 within the process control system via data connection 334. Runtime scanner 326 may identify process data values based on configuration data from configuration database 321. Upon receiving the process data value, the stream processing unit 325 evaluates the received data value to identify the requested data value associated with the parameter, entity, alarm, or notification requested by the remote computing device. do. User customization module 322 and configuration database 321 may provide information regarding data communicated to remote computing devices, which may be added to memory cache 323. Once it is determined by the stream processor 325 that a notification should be sent, the notification information is sent to the notification module 327 and pushed to the mobile device 14 via the notification service 196.

Expo server 179 may include an expo database 328 that stores information about users, devices, licenses, and system level information about the process control system. This may include configuration files 74 and information regarding user authentication to access process data. Expo database 328 may be configured by an Expo configurator device 329 operating within the process control system. Expo database 328 then provides configuration and authentication data via data connection 334 to user module 333 via configuration unit 330 and to search module via configuration file processor 331. Additional, alternative, or fewer elements may be included in other embodiments of mobile server 178. For example, data server 174 may be included between mobile server 178, both expo servers 179, and communicator interface 170.

FIG. 2L shows an example mobile server internal communication architecture within mobile server 178. The example architecture shows an alternative view of logical coupling within mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 communicates via an asynchronous communication API, such as the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) framework (developed by Microsoft Corp.), between server-side scanner 335 in mobile service 339 and client-side scanner 336 in expo server 338. may include a mobile service 339 and an expo server 338 that communicate with each other. At Expo server 338 , server-side scanner 335 communicates with Expo communicator 337 to process configurations from Expo database 328 . At mobile service 339 , client-side scanner 336 communicates the received data to watchlist items unit 324 , which may further communicate to mobile service 190 . Mobile services 190 further manage communications with mobile devices 14.

Notifications and Alarms In addition to other process data, the systems and methods described herein may be used to communicate alarms associated with a process plant to users of remote computing devices. The real-time data communication feature of the systems and methods described herein is particularly valuable with respect to alarms, as alarms can be frequently time-sensitive and urgent. Alarms may be included as L1 data generated by the process control system and may be included in process control data values communicated to mobile server 178 via data server 174. For example, an alarm may be a parameter defined in configuration data or included in process data associated with an entity such as a control module. Such an alarm may be a process parameter and may have an alarm status as a process parameter data value, which may be a predetermined set of alarm statuses (e.g., suppressed, disabled, acknowledged, active, unacknowledged, (recognized, operating, stopped, unrecognized). The alarm status may be based on other parameters within the process control system or otherwise based on conditions within the process plant, such as the status of processed materials in a portion of the process plant, environmental conditions in a portion of the process plant, or It may indicate the status of devices within the process plant (eg, field devices 44-46 or equipment units). In some embodiments, the condition associated with the alarm is the process input or can be monitored based on output.

Alarms, like other process data, may be selected for monitoring or subscription as part of an alarm list selected by a user of a remote computing device. As such, mobile server 178 receives alarm status as part of the process data values sent from data server 174. Mobile server 178 further processes the alarm status to determine whether the user should be alerted. Alternatively, alarms may be implemented by mobile server 178 based on relevant process data values from a process control system. For example, an alarm may specify a range of values for one or more parameters associated with each of a plurality of alarm statuses. Mobile server 178 may then subscribe to the associated one or more parameters and determine alarm status when the associated parameter values are received from data server 174. Regardless of how it is generated, the alarm can be monitored to determine when to alert the user. When the alarm status meets one or more criteria for transmission, mobile server 178 may communicate a notification or alert to a corresponding remote computing device for presentation to the user. Such alerts or notifications may be communicated over the mobile network as well as other process data values, or the alerts or notifications may be sent via a notification service 196 (which notification service 196 may , may further interact with a third party notification service 182, such as, for example, a Google or Apple notification service). As such, the alarm and notification methods and systems described herein may be implemented with or in conjunction with other methods described elsewhere herein.

FIG. 2M illustrates an example alarm notification method 340 for monitoring a process control system and providing alarms to a remote computing device. Alarm notification method 340 may be implemented by mobile server 178 to identify and send notifications or other alerts associated with alarms. At block 341, mobile server 178 establishes a subscription to alarms in a process control system for one or more remote computing devices. As discussed elsewhere herein, such subscriptions are sent in response to selection of a data list (e.g., an alarm list, or other list that includes alarms as process data entries) and polling requests. may be established in response to a request from mobile server 178 to data server 174 for process data, including alarms, to obtain. At block 342, mobile server 178 receives process data from data server 174 via remote access network 164. Such process data may include a plurality of process data values, which process data values are received as one or more streams of process data values transmitted in real time as they are generated within the process control system. can be done.

Upon receiving the process data, mobile server 178 identifies alarm data values in the received process data at block 343. The alarm data value may be an alarm status associated with a monitored condition within the process plant. Alternatively, the alarm data value may be another process data value associated with the alarm status. Based on the identified alarm data values, mobile server 178 may determine and communicate notifications associated with the alarm status to the remote computing device.

At block 344, mobile server 178 communicates notification of the alarm data value to one or more remote computing devices. The notification may include alarm status or may be an alternative notification. In some embodiments, the notification may further include additional information related to the alarm, such as recommendations for resolving the condition associated with the alarm, the time it will take to resolve the condition, or notes regarding the condition. Such additional data may be obtained from data historian 62 or knowledge repository 64 via data server 174, or additional data may be obtained from enterprise historian 188 by mobile server 178. Data server 178 sends notifications (including any additional data) to one or more remote computing devices based on a viewing list associated with the remote computing device, as discussed elsewhere herein. can be communicated with. Communication of the notification may include sending the notification over a mobile network, such as the Internet 180 or a local network. The local network may be used, for example, to send notifications by Wi-Fi access point 12a to mobile device 14 via remote access network 164. In some embodiments, notifications may be communicated to remote computing devices via notification service 196. Notification service 196 indicates that an application associated with the process data (e.g., a special purpose monitoring application or a web browser capable of receiving process data from mobile server 178) is on a remote computing device when the notification is communicated. Notifications may be pushed to remote computing devices whether they are active or not. Thus, the user may be alerted to the alarm even when the user is not viewing process data. Upon receiving the notification, the remote computing device presents an alert corresponding to the notification to the user at block 345.

FIG. 2N depicts an example alarm transmission sequence that illustrates communication of an alert or notification from mobile server 178 to mobile device 14. In an exemplary embodiment, mobile server 178 may implement runtime notification service 326, notification filter 325, and application API 317. Once a notification is identified by mobile server 178 for transmission to mobile device 14, the notification may be generated by or communicated to runtime notification service 326 of mobile server 178. Alternatively, runtime notification service 326 may identify and send the notification to mobile server 14. In any event, runtime notification service 326 sends the notification to notification filter 325, which may further determine how the notification is to be sent to mobile device 14. Notification filter 325 then sends the notification to application API 317 for further transmission.

Application API 317 provides notification service 196 (e.g., Microsoft
Corp. The notification service 196 may communicate with the mobile device 1 via a notification channel 346 via a third party notification service 182, such as a Google or Apple notification service.
The notification may further be configured to send notifications to 4. Upon receiving the notification, application API 317 sends the notification to notification service 196 . Notification service 196 selects a third party notification service 182 and sends a notification to the selected third party notification service 182. Third party notification service 182 receives the notification and sends it to notification channel 346, which communicates the notification to mobile device 14. Mobile device 14 may then present the notification to the user. In some embodiments, mobile device 14 may receive a request to read pending notifications that may include notification selections by the user. In response to such a request, mobile device 14 may provide additional information that is included with the notification or received separately from mobile server 178. In further embodiments, mobile device 14 may implement a process data application and obtain process data associated with the notification in response to receiving a request from a user.

FIG. 2O depicts an example alarm notification architecture illustrating communication of notifications associated with alarms to mobile device 14. The example architecture shows the major components involved in data communication between mobile device 14 and mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 includes a notification module 327 that sends notifications (eg, alerts associated with alarms) to mobile device 14 , but notification module 327 does not receive communications back from mobile device 14 . Notification module 327 receives notifications to be sent to mobile device 14 or determines such notifications based on process data received by mobile server 178 . Upon identifying the notification, notification module 327 may send the notification to notification service 196 via Internet 180. Notification service 196 is then provided by Apple Inc. The notification is sent to a third party notification service 182, which may be a cloud-based service such as iCloud. Third party notification service 182 may then push the notification to mobile device 14 for presentation to the user.

The application API 317 of the mobile server 178 both sends and receives data. As discussed above, application API 317 may send configuration data and requested process data values to mobile device 14 via a mobile network, such as the Internet 180. Application API 317 also receives communications from mobile device 14 over the mobile network, such as queries, requests for configuration data, or selections of process data (eg, watch lists, alarm lists, etc.). Application API 317 provides an interface between mobile device 14 and mobile server 178 for normal communications, while notification module 327 provides an interface between mobile device 14 and mobile server 178 for regular communications, particularly for time-sensitive information (e.g., alerts associated with alarms). Push notifications. Mobile device 14 may implement various software applications, modules, or routines to send and receive data and present data to a user via a GUI. For example, mobile device 14 may include a mobile and data service for processing communications (and, in some embodiments, receiving notifications) over a mobile network. The mobile and data service may not only store and retrieve data to the local memory of the mobile device 14, but also provide data for input in the viewing model. The viewing model combines views selected or created by the user with process data values received from the mobile server 178 or local memory to present usable information about the process plant to the user. The browsing model further communicates the data to the mobile and data service for storage or communication to the mobile server 178 to retrieve configuration data or process data from the process control system, as described elsewhere herein. It may also indicate a request for.

FIG. 2P illustrates an example alarm response method 350 for providing notifications and additional data regarding alarms within a process control system to a remote computing device, such as mobile device 14. Method 350 is implemented by mobile server 178 to identify and send notifications or other alerts associated with alarms, receive requests for further information associated with such alarms, and provide additional data associated with alarms. obtain. At block 351, mobile server 178 may receive a plurality of process data values from data server 174 via remote access network 164, as described elsewhere herein. Upon receiving process data from mobile server 174, mobile server 178 may identify data associated with alarms within the process control system. Identification of the alarm may include identifying an alarm status in the plurality of process data values received from the data server 174, or identifying the alarm may include identifying the alarm status from a parameter value among the plurality of process data values at the mobile server 178. may include determining. Mobile server 178 may then generate or select a notification to send to the remote computing device, which may include the alarm status.

At block 352, mobile server 178 communicates a notification associated with the identified alarm to the remote computing device. The notification may be communicated via the notification module 327 of the mobile server 178 to the notification service 196 for further communication to the mobile device 14 via the third party notification service 182. After receiving the notification, the remote computing device may present the notification to the user and may receive a user request for additional data regarding the notification. The request for additional data may specify particular data associated with the alarm or the condition within the process plant associated with the alarm. For example, the user may select more detailed information from a list of available related information by selecting the presentation of the notification. Alternatively, the request for additional information may simply request additional data associated with conditions available within the process control system and associated with the alarm.

At block 353, mobile server 178 receives a request for additional data associated with the state from the remote computing device. Such requests for additional data may be received by the mobile server 178 from a remote computing device via the mobile network and as an application API 317 of the mobile server 178 . For example, mobile device 14 may send a message to application API 317 of mobile server 178 via Internet 180 containing a request for additional data. After mobile server 178 receives the request for additional data, at block 354, mobile server 178 may identify additional data associated with the situation to be sent to the remote computing device. Mobile server 178 may identify the additional data from an indicator that specifies the additional data included in the request. Additionally or alternatively, mobile server 178 may incorporate configuration data previously received from data server 174, such as by identifying parameters associated with an area, process device, equipment unit, control module, or alarm (or input parameters of the alarm). Additional data may be identified based on the information. For example, process data regarding the equipment unit associated with the parameter value that triggered the alarm may be identified as additional data relevant to the request. In a further embodiment, the mobile server 178 identifies data regarding alarms or equipment that may be relevant to a condition in the process plant, such as recommendations or notes associated with the condition or an entity within the process control system that is associated with the condition. It is possible. If available at mobile server 178, the identified additional data may be sent to the remote computing device. If some or all of the identified additional data is not available at mobile server 178, mobile server 178 may obtain the additional data. Obtaining additional data may include requesting process data values associated with the additional data from data server 174. Obtaining additional data values may further include obtaining additional data values from data historian 62 or knowledge repository 64. Once mobile server 178 identifies the additional data, mobile server 178 may communicate the identified additional data to the remote computing device via the mobile network. This may include sending one or more messages containing additional data values from application API 327 to mobile device 14 via Internet 180. The remote computing device may then present the additional data values to the user or store the additional data values for later presentation.

Implementing a Web Browser Although the disclosure herein generally exemplifies a remote computing device as mobile device 14, other remote computing devices (e.g., a web client 198, such as a web browser or an application therein) may be used in the disclosure. It should be understood that the systems and methods described herein may be used to access process data over the Internet 180 or other unsecured networks. In some embodiments, such remote computing devices may also communicate with mobile server 178 via one or more secure networks. The process described herein may nevertheless be used as an additional security measure. An example web client implementation is shown in FIG. 2Q, which may run on a mobile device or a stationary computer connected to mobile server 178 via an unsecured network.

FIG. 2Q illustrates an example web client implementation for receiving process data from mobile server 178 at web client 198. The example diagram shows communications between components of web client 198 and mobile server 178. Mobile server 178 may include mobile services 190 that control communications with remote computing devices, as discussed above. In a web client implementation, mobile service 190 may communicate with application API 317 within mobile server 178. Application API 317 may send and receive information from mobile service 190 through one or more application services 356 of application API 317 . Application API 317 may then use view controller 357, web services 358, or WebSockets 359. View controller 357 and web services 358 may provide data to web client 198, while WebSockets 359 may both send data to and receive data from web client 359. View controller 357 may send a static file that defines a view to be displayed by the GUI of web client 198 (eg, an HTML page, CSS file, or JavaScript). Web service 358 may send process data values used in static files to web client 198. Web service 348 may be a representational state transfer (REST) web service and may use JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) to efficiently send data values. WebSockets 359 may also use JSON for communication between mobile server 178 and web client 198. Although not shown, application API 317 may communicate with web client 198 via the Internet 180 or other communication network.

The web client may include a data client device 360 that communicates with the mobile server 178 via a data services module 361. Data services module 361 may receive static files, data values, and any other data from view controller 357, web services 358, or WebSockets 359 of mobile server 178. Data service module 361 may also communicate data to WebSockets 359. Data service 361 may communicate within data client device 360 to generate or provide data to a remote computing device's GUI. To present data to a user, data client device 360 may combine components 364 with templates 365 based on indicators 366, including indicators from the user. Class 362 and interface 363 may be used in communication between data service 361, which receives data provided by mobile server 178, and user interface component 364. The illustrated web client implementation is exemplary only, and other embodiments of web client implementations may include additional, alternative, or fewer elements.

GUI Generation As discussed above, applications running on mobile computing devices are used to allow users to remotely view process data and alarms of a process control system. In particular, the application is configured to present various graphical user interfaces (GUIs) representing process data and/or alarms generated by the process control system. FIG. 3A is a signal diagram detailing the interaction between the mobile server 178, the mobile computing device 14, the application 16 running on the mobile computing device 14, and the GUI 18 presented on the display of the mobile computing device 14. shows. Generally, application 16 and mobile computing device 14 interact via one or more APIs of mobile computing device 14 to generate and display GUI 18. In addition to the API of the mobile computing device 14, the mobile server 178 is also used to control communications between the mobile server 178 and the mobile computing device 14, as well as process data and/or alarms generated by the process control system. may include one or more APIs for controlling access to.

In an aspect, the process depicted in the signal diagram begins when a user interacts with GUI 18 to log in (602) to application 16. As is commonly known, the login process involves the user providing a username and password. In one embodiment, application 16 is a browser application running on mobile computing device 14. In this embodiment, a user may log into a web portal that facilitates the functionality described herein. In another embodiment, application 16 is an application that specializes in interacting with process control systems. In this embodiment, the login process may occur when a user launches a specialized application. Application 16 receives the login information and generates an authentication request according to the mobile server 178 API. The authentication request may include an indication of the identity of the user and/or an indication of the identity of the mobile computing device 14. Application 16 then forwards (604) the authentication request to mobile computing device 14 for transmission (606) to mobile server 178 via the communication network. In the illustrated process, mobile server 178 processes the authentication request and authorizes the user to access process data and/or alarms generated by the process control system (608). In some embodiments, access is limited to a set of process data and/or alarms specifically authorized in the user's corresponding user profile. In some embodiments, a user may be authorized to access process data and/or alarms from multiple different process control systems. After granting access, mobile server 178 sends an acknowledgment to mobile computing device 14 that the user has been successfully authenticated (610). Mobile computing device 14 then notifies application 16 that the user's authentication was successful (612).

Once the user is authorized to access process data and/or alarms generated by the process control system, the user interacts with GUI 18 to select a view list of process data and/or alarms (614). A view list can be an alarm list, a watch list, a batch list, or a list of lists (i.e., an alarm list, a watch list, a batch list, and/or other lists of lists). For example, upon logging into application 16, application 16 may generate an interface that presents a list of multiple views to which the user has access. In this example, selection may be a click, tap, or other user interaction with GUI 18 that indicates a particular view list from among multiple view lists. Of course, GUI 18 may be configured to detect selections through other known user interface techniques, including the use of verbal commands and/or gestures. Application 16 then generates a request for data corresponding to the selected view list. In an aspect, the application 16 formats the request for data to include the view list index according to the API of the mobile server 178. Application 16 then forwards (616) the request for data to mobile computing device 14 for transmission (618) to mobile server 178 via the communication network.

According to aspects described elsewhere herein, when mobile server 178 receives a request for data, mobile server 178 queries a view list database (not shown) to create the indicated view list. Determine multiple parameters to include. In some embodiments, mobile server 178 also determines a plurality of parameters associated with each item in the indicated view list. For example, if the indicated view list is an alarm list, mobile server 178 determines a plurality of parameters associated with each item in the alarm list. In another example, if the indicated view list is a list of lists, the mobile server 178 may specify a plurality of parameters associated with each list in the list of lists (and a plurality of parameters associated with items therein). Determine.

Parameters are divided into two general categories: runtime parameters and non-runtime parameters. Runtime parameters include parameters generated by field device 44 and/or control module 70 that indicate the current state of operation. To this end, the runtime parameters may represent a "real-time" or current view of the state of field device 44 and/or control module 70. By way of example, runtime parameters may include process values, limit values, output values, or alarm records. Non-runtime parameters, on the other hand, tend to represent generally static characteristics of field device 44 and/or control module 70. By way of example, non-runtime parameters may include the name of the field device or control module, the tag of the field device or control module, the role of the item, the device associated with the runtime parameter, and the like. It should be appreciated that although non-runtime parameters are generally static, non-runtime parameters may still change from time to time (eg, when new field devices are added to a process control system).

Based on these different characteristics of runtime and non-runtime parameters, mobile server 178 processes requests to retrieve data differently for runtime and non-runtime parameters. To this end, mobile server 178 interrogates (622) configuration data (eg, an FHX file) to retrieve non-runtime parameters. Mobile server 178 then transmits the retrieved non-runtime parameters to mobile computing device 14 (626). Conversely, for runtime parameters, mobile server 178 subscribes mobile computing device 14 to a data stream that includes the parameters (620). In some embodiments, to subscribe a mobile computing device to a data stream, mobile server 178 follows the steps of data subscription method 220 shown in FIG. 2C. Because the data stream may be hierarchically organized in some embodiments, the data stream also includes references to some non-runtime parameters (e.g., the name or tag of the control module or field device). It should be understood that what you get is: As another example, some view lists may include graphical representations of historical trends of parameters. In this example, the data stream may include multiple historical values for the parameter (eg, values corresponding to each minute of the last 12 hours). Unlike runtime parameters, these historical values are retrieved from a data historian (not shown) interconnected with mobile server 178. After mobile computing device 14 is subscribed to the data stream, mobile server 178 may periodically transmit the data stream to mobile computing device 14 (628). In some embodiments, the data stream may actually be an aggregate data stream that includes multiple different data streams from multiple different process control systems.

Additionally, according to aspects, application 16 retrieves (624) a template (eg, a view model) in a template database (not shown) that corresponds to the selected view list. The template is a GUI where the parameter values of the view list are displayed.
Including positions on 18. As an example, if the template includes a title bar, the template may indicate a position on the title bar for the friendlyName parameter for the selected view list. In one scenario, the template is the default template for a particular type of view list. In another scenario, the template for the selected view list may be a customized template. For example, the user may customize whether the GUI 18 corresponding to the selected view list includes visualization of various parameters. For this purpose, the user can determine which parameters (e.g. process values, set points, limits, etc.) are displayed in the graph presented on the GUI 18, whether the graph includes a scale, whether the graph is a line chart or not. It may be customizable to include bar charts or even whether graphs are displayed on GUI 18 at all.

Once mobile computing device 14 receives the data stream including the retrieved non-runtime parameters and runtime parameters, mobile computing device 14 provides the received data to application 16 . Application 16 then autopopulates the retrieved template with data provided by mobile computing device 14 (632). To this end, the parameters included in the template and the parameters provided by the mobile computing device 14 may correspond to each other (eg, both parameters have the same name). Application 16 then generates a set of instructions that cause mobile computing device 14 to display 634 the auto-filled template on GUI 18. In one aspect, the set of instructions is formatted according to an API of the mobile computing device. For example, the mobile computing device 14 operating system may include multiple APIs related to presenting a GUI on the mobile computing device 14 display.

In one aspect, as described above, mobile server 178 may send to mobile computing device 14 parameters associated with each item in the selected view list. However, the template for the selected view list may not include the location of each parameter associated with each item therein. Therefore, parameters that are not included in the template are not displayed on the GUI 18. However, the user may be able to interact with GUI 18 to view other view lists that correspond to items in the selected view list. To improve the speed with which the template corresponding to this alternate view list may be autofilled, application 16 may cache data provided by the mobile computing device. As a result, the template corresponding to this other view list may be auto-populated without further communication between mobile computing device 14 and mobile server 178.

Further, as described above, once mobile computing device 14 is subscribed to the data stream, mobile server 178 periodically transmits data to mobile computing device 14 (636). Mobile computing device 14 then provides the received data to application 16 (638). In some scenarios, the data stream may include updated data values for one or more of the parameters included in the view list displayed on GUI 18. Accordingly, application 16 updates the template to include the updated data values included in the data stream (640). Application 16 then generates a set of instructions that cause mobile computing device 14 to display (642) the updated template on GUI 18.

At some point, the user may move away from GUI 18 and/or interact with mobile computing device 14, and application 16 no longer presents GUI 18. In one scenario, a user has logged out of application 16. Accordingly, application 16 may detect a logout event and generate an unsubscribe message. Application 16 then forwards the unsubscribe message to mobile computing device 14 for transmission to mobile server 178. In response, mobile server 178 unsubscribes mobile computing device 14 from the data stream. In another scenario, the user may select a new view list to be displayed on GUI 18. Application 16 may therefore be a selection of this new view list. Application 16 then also generates an unsubscribe message for the current view list and a request to receive data corresponding to the new view list. Application 16 then forwards an unsubscribe message and a request to receive the data to mobile computing device 14 for transmission to mobile server 178 . In response, mobile server 178 unsubscribes mobile computing device 14 and modifies the data stream to reflect the parameters corresponding to the new view list.

Turning now to 3B-3H, exemplary GUIs corresponding to different view list types are shown. 3B and 3C show a GUI corresponding to a view list with a list of lists, FIG. 3D shows a GUI corresponding to a view list of watchlists, and FIGS. 3E and 3F correspond to a view list of watchlist items. FIG. 3G shows a GUI corresponding to a view list of alarm lists, and FIG. 3H shows a GUI corresponding to a view list of alarm items. Each of the GUIs shown may be presented by GUI 18 within application 16 running on mobile computing device 14. As mentioned above, the placement of various GUI elements is governed by templates (eg, view models) that correspond to particular view lists. The template may include locations on GUI 18 where multiple parameter values will be displayed. To automatically populate the template, application 16 may be configured to generally follow the process values described in signal diagram 600. In particular, the interfaces shown in FIGS. 3B-3H may be presented by GUI 18 in response to a user selecting a respective view list at step 614 of signal diagram 600. In addition, the interfaces shown in FIGS. 3B-3H allow application 16 to autofill respective templates for respective view lists and present the interfaces on GUI 18 at steps 632 and 634, respectively, of signal diagram 600. The set of instructions may be presented by GUI 18 in response to sending the set of instructions to mobile computing device 14 .

With particular reference to FIGS. 3B and 3C, GUI 18 presents list-of-lists view list interfaces 644 and 646, respectively. Interfaces 644 and 646 include display areas that display visual representations of individual lists within the list of lists. In the example shown on interface 644, the individual lists are a DHT Area Alarm List, a DHT1 Watch List, a Utility Alarm List, a DHT2 Watch List, and a Safety Alarm List. Each visual representation of a list may include a summary of the list. In particular, if the list is a watchlist, the summary may include some watchlist items in the watchlist and some watchlist items that have an abnormal state. On the other hand, if the list is an alarm list, the summary includes some active alarms that are not recognized in the alarm list, some inactive alarms that are not recognized in the alarm list, and some suppressed alarms in the alarm list. may contain several alarms. The visual representation of a list within a list of lists may also include the list's friendly name (e.g., DHT Area Alarm), the tag of the module monitored by the list (e.g., FIC350112), and/or the module's specific alarm (e.g., HI_HI) may also be included. Additionally, the visual representation of the lists within the watchlist includes icons that indicate the type of list (eg, watchlist vs. alarm list) and the status of the list. Specifically, for alarm lists, the status indicator corresponds to the highest priority alarm in the alarm list that is unrecognized or suppressed, and for watch lists, the status indicator corresponds to the highest priority alarm in the alarm list when the watch list is in an abnormal state. Corresponds to whether a certain watchlist item is included.

Interfaces 644 and 646 also include a tab selection interface that allows a user of mobile computing device 14 to select information tabs to display on GUI 18. As shown on interfaces 644 and 646, the tab selection interface includes selection elements corresponding to a watch list information tab, an alarm list information tab, or an all list information tab. Although not shown in interface 644 or 646, the tab selection interface may also include a batch list information tab. Selection of a selection element in the tab selection interface applies a filter to (or removes a filter from) the list displayed in the display area. For example, if the watchlist selection element is selected, only the watchlist will be displayed in the display area. In the scenario shown on interface 644, if the watchlist selection element is selected, the display area is filtered to include only the DHT1 watchlist and the DHT2 watchlist.

Additionally, interfaces 644 and 646 include a search interface that allows searching for specific items contained within the list of lists. The search interface may be configured to receive user input indicating search criteria. For example, the user input may be characters typed via a virtual or physical keyboard, voice captured by a mobile computing device's microphone, or other known techniques for receiving user input indicating search criteria. obtain. The results of the search are displayed within the display areas of interfaces 644 and 646. According to aspects, the search may be performed on a set of cached data received by mobile computing device 14 from mobile server 178. As a result, searches may be performed by application 16 without communicating with mobile server 178, reducing the time required to complete a search.

Additionally, interfaces 644 and 646 include shared list switching elements. To this end, each list within a list of lists may be a personal list (e.g., a list that only a user can modify or configure) or a shared list (e.g., a list that multiple users can modify or configure). It may be classified as either. As shown on interface 646, when the shared list toggle element is active, the display area includes both a list of personal lists and a list of shared lists. Conversely, as shown on interface 644, when the shared list toggle element is not active, the display area only includes a list of personal lists.

With particular reference now to FIG. 3D, GUI 18 presents a watchlist view list interface 648. In one scenario, interface 648 is presented in response to a user selecting the DHT1 watchlist while GUI 18 is presenting one of interfaces 644 or 646. Interface 648 includes a display area that displays a visual representation of the individual watchlist items within the watchlist. In the example shown on interface 648, the individual watchlist items are Sour Nap FCC, Furnace Out Temp, Flash Drum Press, Strp Reboiler Te[mp], Strp Bottoms Lev[el], and Primary ACN S It is tatus. Each visual representation of a watchlist item includes the watchlist item's friendly name (e.g., Sour Nap FCC), the tag of the module monitored by the watchlist item (e.g., FIC350112), and/or the tag of the module monitored by the watchlist item. may include the hierarchical location of the module (eg,...1/COMM/PRI/OLINTEG). Additionally, the visual representation may include a parameter value for the watchlist item's primary role (eg, 89.2) as well as its units (eg, bpd). For example, the Furnace Out Temp watchlist item, whose primary role is to monitor the process value that corresponds to the temperature of the furnace. As another example, for the Primary ACN Status watchlist item, the primary role is to monitor the status of the Primary ACN.

Additionally, the visual representation of the watchlist item may also include a chart that illustrates trends in parameter values (eg, values over the past 20 minutes) corresponding to the watchlist item's primary role. According to aspects, the chart may include set points or other reference points superimposed on the chart. The visual representation of a watchlist item may also include a status area that indicates the status of the watchlist item. For example, in the scenario shown on interface 648, the Sour Nap FCC watchlist item has an abnormal status. Accordingly, the status area of the Sour Nap FCC watchlist item includes an indicator of unusual status (eg, an exclamation point). Conversely, the Furnace Out Temp watchlist item has a normal status. Therefore, on the interface 646 shown, the status area for the Furnace Out Temp watchlist item is blank.

Additionally, interface 648 includes a search interface that allows searching for specific items included within the watchlist. The search interface may be configured to receive user input indicating search criteria. For example, the user input may be characters typed via a virtual or physical keyboard, voice captured by a mobile computing device's microphone, or other known techniques for receiving user input indicating search criteria. obtain. The results of the search are displayed within the display area of interface 648. According to aspects, the search may be performed on a set of cached data received by mobile computing device 14 from mobile server 178. As a result, searches may be performed by application 16 without communicating with mobile server 178, reducing the time required to complete a search.

With particular reference to FIGS. 3E and 3F, GUI 18 presents watchlist item view list interfaces 650 and 652, respectively. In one scenario, interfaces 650 and 652 are presented in response to a user selecting the Sour Nap FCC watchlist item while GUI 18 is presenting interface 648. Interfaces 650 and 652 include current parameter value display areas that display a visual representation of current parameter values for one or more parameters monitored by the watchlist item. As shown on interfaces 650 and 652, the current parameter value display area includes parameter values corresponding to a process value (89.2), a set point value (50), and an output value (0.0). . Of course, other interfaces may include additional, fewer, or alternative parameter values. Interfaces 650 and 652 also include historical parameter value display areas for displaying graphical representations of historical values of one or more parameters monitored by the watchlist item. As shown on interfaces 650 and 652, the graphical diagrams include graphs showing historical values for each of the process values, set point values, and output values.

In certain aspects, watchlist item interfaces 650 and 652 correspond to different templates. In particular, interface 650 corresponds to templates in portrait mode, and interface 652 corresponds to templates in landscape mode. Accordingly, application 16 is configured to detect the orientation of mobile computing device 14. Application 16 autofills the portrait mode template to present interface 650 on GUI 18 when mobile computing device 14 is in portrait mode orientation. Similarly, application 16 autofills the landscape mode template to present interface 652 on GUI 18 when mobile computing device 14 is in landscape mode orientation. As shown by interfaces 650 and 652, the landscape mode template includes a larger historical parameter value display area and a smaller current parameter value display area than the portrait mode template.

Additionally, the portrait mode template presented on interface 650 includes an identification display area and a status status display area. As shown on interface 650, the identification display area includes an indicator of the name of the watchlist item (e.g., Sour Nap FCC), a description of the watchlist item (e.g., "Diesel Hydrotreater Unit 1 Inlet Flow from FCC"), a tag (eg, F1350112), and a path indicating the hierarchical location of field device 44 and/or control module 70 (eg, MySystemSiteName:DHT_AREA/DHT1/). As shown on interface 650, the condition status display area includes indicators of one or more conditions of the watchlist item (eg, "PV Bad" and "Abnormal Mode").

Turning to FIG. 3G, GUI 18 presents an alarm list view list interface 654. In one scenario, interface 654 is presented in response to a user selecting an alarm list of DHT area alarms while GUI 18 is presenting one of interfaces 644 or 646. Interface 654 includes a display area that displays a visual representation of individual alarm items within the alarm list. In the example shown on interface 654, the individual alarm items are HI_HI Sour Nap FCC Alarm, LO Furnace Out Temp Alarm, HI Flash Drum Press Alarm, Bypass
These are the Sour Nap FCC alarm and the Interlock DHT1 XFR Pump alarm. Each visual representation of an alarm item includes the alarm item's friendly name (e.g., Sour Nap FCC), the tag of the module monitored by the watchlist item (e.g., FIC350112), and the specific alarm of the module corresponding to the alarm item. (eg, HI_HI). Additionally, the display area may include status icons (eg, red circles) for alarm items in the alarm list. The status icon may correspond to the priority and/or status of the alarm item.

Interface 654 also includes a tab selection interface that allows a user of mobile computing device 14 to select tabs of information to display on GUI 18. As shown on interface 654, the tab selection interface includes selection elements that correspond to a notified alarm information tab and a suppressed alarm information tab. Selection of a selection element in the tab selection interface applies a filter to (or removes a filter from) the list displayed in the display area. For example, when the selection element of notified alarms is selected, only the notified alarms are displayed in the display area. In this example, the visual representation of the alarm item includes the amount of time since the alarm item was announced. On the other hand, if the suppressed alarm selection element is selected, only suppressed alarms are displayed in the display area. Thus, the visual representation of the alarm item includes the amount of time since the alarm item was suppressed.

Additionally, interface 654 includes a search interface that allows searching for specific alarm items included within the alarm list. The search interface may be configured to receive user input indicating search criteria. For example, the user input may be characters typed via a virtual or physical keyboard, voice captured by a mobile computing device's microphone, or other known techniques for receiving user input indicating search criteria. obtain. The results of the search are displayed within the display area of interface 654. According to aspects, the search may be performed on a set of cached data received by mobile computing device 14 from mobile server 178. As a result, searches may be performed by application 16 without communicating with mobile server 178, reducing the time required to complete a search.

Turning to FIG. 3H, GUI 18 presents an alarm item view list interface 656. In one scenario, interface 656 is presented in response to a user selecting the Sour Nap FCC HI_HI alarm while GUI 18 is presenting one of interfaces 654. Interface 656 includes an identification display area that displays information identifying the alarm item. As shown on interface 656, the identification display area includes an indication of the name of the alarm item (e.g., Sour Nap FCC), a module corresponding to the alarm item (e.g., FIC350112), a description of the alarm item (e.g., DHT Feed Rate). (very high), and the functional classification of the module corresponding to the alarm item (eg, environmental protection). The identification display area may include a status icon (eg, a red circle) that indicates the priority and/or status of the alarm item.

As shown on interface 656, interface 656 includes an alarm timer display area. The alarm timer display area displays an alarm timer corresponding to the alarm item. When the alarm item is a signaled alarm, the alarm timer display area indicates the time the alarm item was signaled and the time since the alarm was signaled. When the alarm item is a suppressed alarm, the alarm timer display area indicates the time the alarm item was suppressed and the time since the alarm was suppressed.

Additionally, interface 656 also includes a responsive display area. The response display area displays the consequences of not performing an action (e.g., "Economic-Major: Potential loss of $100,000 to $500,000") and the recommended action in response to the alarm item (e.g., "L1-UT11..."). cross-checking of readings). When the alarm item is a signaled alarm, the response display area displays the time to respond to the alarm item (e.g., less than 15 minutes) and the time between the time the alarm item was signaled and the time to respond. Includes a timer (eg, 00:13:24) representing the difference. When the alarm item is a suppressed alarm, the response display area displays the reason the alarm item was suppressed (e.g., chatter or fleeting behavior) and a timer (e.g., 11:16:36).

Interface 656 also includes a historical parameter value display area for displaying a graphical representation of the historical value of the parameter corresponding to the alarm item. The graphical diagram includes the identification of the parameter monitored by the alarm item (eg, FIC350112/PV). According to aspects, the graphical representation also includes an alarm limit line corresponding to the limit that triggered the alarm item.

It should be understood that a user of mobile computing device 14 may customize interfaces 644-656. For example, a user may be able to zoom or rescale a graphical representation or chart, rearrange the order in which items are displayed in a list, and/or modify the set of parameters that are displayed. One particular customization of a watchlist, such as a watchlist contained on interface 648, involves reconfiguring the watchlist to create a composite watchlist that includes a composite graph representation of parameter values for one or more watchlist items. Includes the ability to create items. This customization is illustrated across a series of watchlist view list interfaces 658-666 shown in FIGS. 3I-3M, respectively. A series of interfaces 658-666 are generated within application 16 running on mobile computing device 14.

The composite watchlist item process begins with interface 658 shown in FIG. 3I, illustrating the user selecting an edit control of interface 658. In response, application 16 presents a watchlist editing interface on GUI 18, as shown on interface 660 of FIG. 3J. According to aspects, for each watchlist item, the watchlist editing interface allows a user to separately edit the graphical representation position of the corresponding current parameter value and the corresponding historical value. As shown on interface 660, each watchlist item includes an upper slider element that corresponds to the position of the current parameter value and a lower slider element that corresponds to a graphical representation of the historical value. The scenario shown in 3J illustrates a user beginning to drag a slider element that corresponds to a graph of historical values for the Diesel Product Temp watchlist item. Dragging the slider element ends in the scenario illustrated on interface 662, as shown in FIG. 3K. More specifically, interface 662 illustrates the user dragging a slider element to the bottom of the watchlist items. As shown on interface 662, dragging the slider element separated the position of the current parameter value and the position of the graphical representation of the historical value for the Diesel Product Temp watchlist item in the watchlist.

As illustrated on interface 664 of FIG. 3L, the composite process allows a user of mobile computing device 14 to
Continue if you drag the slider corresponding to the graph of historical values for the watchlist item to the bottom of the watchlist. As shown on interface 662, dragging the slider element similarly separated the position of the current parameter value and the position of the graphical representation of the historical value for the Kerosene Product Temp watchlist item in the watchlist. To see a composite graphical representation of historical values for the Diesel Product Temp and Kerosene Product Temp watchlist items, the user selects the “Done” element of interface 664. As FIG. 3M shows on interface 666, application 16 then selects Diesel Product Temp and Kerosene Product
Composite graphs of historical values for Temp watchlist items into a single graph. It should be understood that any customization to a view list, including combining two watchlist items, will modify the template corresponding to the view list accordingly. As a result, any customizations to the view list can be stored on mobile computing device 14 and easily accessed by application 16 at a later point.

As another example, many users may be accustomed to viewing process values on interfaces generated at workstations 30 or 32. Generally, these interfaces were not designed with mobile computing devices in mind. As a result, the interfaces produced by mobile computing device 14 and workstation 30 or 32 may differ in several aspects. This may lead to user confusion or lack of adoption of use of application 16. Accordingly, the view list may include a view mode switching element that uses a view list template that approximates the view that would be generated at workstation 30 or 32. In some embodiments, this view list template is generated based on data generated by an L1 display module, such as that shown in FIG. 1F.

Examples of interfaces that may be presented to a user of mobile computing device 14 for batch process control are now described in connection with FIGS. 4A-4P. Referring momentarily back to FIG. 1N, a user may be presented with a number of batches 155a-e in batch list 153. Upon selecting one of the batches (eg, batch 155a), mobile device 14 may present display 400 that provides information about the recipe for that batch. This information is provided at the top of the display 400, for example, a batch ID 402 indicator 402, a batch status indicator 404, a batch recipe indicator 406, a batch start time indicator 408, and/or a batch execution time indicator 410. may include. Display 400 may also indicate how long the batch status has been in its current state, in embodiments. Additionally, display 400 may display unit procedures associated with a batch recipe. For example, for the batch illustrated in FIG. 4A, there are eight unit procedures 412a-h associated with the batch. Each of the unit procedures 412a-h may be associated with a unit procedure status indicator 414 and a unit procedure recipe indicator 416. Indicator 418 may provide information regarding whether any obstacles or prompts exist for the unit procedure. Controls 420a-b may facilitate switching between viewing recipes 412a-h and viewing parameters associated with a batch ID, respectively.

By selecting one of unit procedures 412a-h on display 400, one may drill down to a further display 422 illustrated in FIG. 4B. Display 422 may be associated with a user's selection of unit procedure 412a, for example. A unit procedure indicator 424 may be illustrated at the top of display 422. An indicator 426 of the procedure and/or prescription associated with unit procedure 412a may be displayed, as well as an indicator 428 of unit procedure status, and an indicator 430 of the equipment on which the unit procedure is operating. Indications 432 of operations associated with unit procedures may be displayed along with a status of each operation and a respective indication (434 and 436, respectively) of the presence of a fault or prompt associated with the operation. Controls 438a-b may each facilitate switching between viewing operation 432 and viewing parameters associated with that operation.

When the user drills down to operation details, for example, by selecting operation 432 on display 422, mobile device 14 may show display 440, as shown in FIG. 4C. Operational indicators 442 may be included at the top of display 440, as well as procedure, prescription, and unit procedure indicators 444, and device indicators 446. One or more phases 448 that make up the operation may be shown with indicators 450 and 452 indicating the status of each phase and the time the phase is in that state, respectively. Indicator 454 may indicate the presence of an obstacle or prompt associated with the phase. Controls 456a-b may each facilitate switching between viewing phase 448 and viewing parameters associated with phase 448. FIG. 4D shows a display 458 that may be presented on mobile device 14 upon activation of control 456b on display 440. Display 458 shows various parameters associated with phase 448, including in this case module parameter 460, PH and its associated value 462, report parameter 464 and its associated value 466, and input parameter 468 and its associated value. Associated values 470 are included. Parameters 460, 464, and 468 are also associated with respective value range indicators 472.

By selecting a phase displayed on display 440 (eg, phase 448), the user may cause mobile device 14 to display display 474 that provides details of the phase, as shown in FIG. 4E. Details may include recipe stack 476 (ie, information about operations, unit procedures, recipes, and batches), phase parameters 478, and information 480 about any failures or prompts associated with the phase. Additionally, display 474 may include an indicator 482 of the amount of time any failure or prompt was pending/unrecognized. In embodiments, display 474 may also provide controls 484 that may allow the user to acknowledge prompts or alarms from mobile device 14.

Referring briefly to FIG. 1N again, the user may select control 167b on display 153 to cause mobile device 14 to present display 486 as shown in FIG. 4F. Display 486 may show a list 488 of equipment associated with the batch indicated on the batch list (eg, associated with batches 153a-e). For each device, the associated batch ID, procedure, unit procedure may be displayed (see 490), and an indicator 492 may indicate the number of phases active on that device. Each device's indicator 494 may indicate whether there is an active fault or prompt. By selecting one of the equipment items 488 in display 486, one can drill down to show display 496 showing a detailed view of the equipment as shown in FIG. 4G. The equipment details view may show a path 498 to the equipment device in question, a batch ID indicator 500, and a recipe indicator 502. Additionally, the detailed view of the device in display 496 may include evidence 504 of the phases associated with the device, and for each phase, its status, the time it has been in that state, etc. Controls 506a-b may each facilitate switching between viewing phases associated with a device (as in FIG. 4G) and viewing parameters as shown in FIG. 4H. Display 508 shown in FIG. 4H shows parameters 510 associated with the selected device.

Alternatively, the user can select control 167c on display 153 to cause mobile device 14 to show display 512 as shown in FIG. 4I. Display 512 shows a list of prompts 514a-b associated with batches 153a-e in the batch list. Each of the prompts 514a-b includes the prompt's message 516 and information 518 such as the batch ID, recipe, and time the prompt is pending. Selecting one of prompts 514a-b may cause mobile device 14 to show display 520 shown in FIG. 4J. Display 520 shows a detailed view for the selected prompt. The phase details shown on display 520 of FIG. 4J include the same type of information as the phase details on display 474 of FIG. 4E.

In embodiments, the displays shown in any of FIGS. 4A-4J may include controls (not shown) in the form of buttons or other links that may allow a user to send a notification to another mobile device. ) may be included. The notification sent to the second mobile device allows the user of the device on which the control was activated to share the currently displayed view. That is, a user of a first device may desire to share the view currently shown on the mobile device with another user of the second mobile device. By activating the "Share View" control, the user of the first device can, when activated by the user of the second device, send the display associated with the link to the first device. A notification including the link or other indicator requested by the server may be sent to the second device. The display associated with the link may be the same display that was shown on the first device when the control was activated, such that the second user users can see what they were looking at, which can include notification screens, alarm details, watchlists, etc. In embodiments, the notification received on the second device may include a screenshot or other image showing what the user can see upon activation of the link on the second device.

List Construction FIG. 3N illustrates an example list construction method 368 for configuring a list of process data items via an application, such as application 16, operating a mobile computing device, such as mobile computing device 14. List configuration method 368 may be implemented at multiple mobile computing devices in communication with mobile server 178. List construction method 368 may also be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described herein.

Method 368 begins at block 370, where mobile computing device 14 receives an indication that a user of mobile computing device 14 has configured a list of process data items. In one embodiment, application 16 includes a list configuration interface that allows a user to configure one or more lists associated with the user. The list configuration interface may be presented by mobile computing device 14, for example, in response to a user selecting an edit control on watch list interface 348 or alarm list interface 354. Accordingly, an indication that a user is configuring a list of process data items may be an indication of presenting a list configuration interface.

At block 372, mobile computing device 14 accesses a hierarchical list of available process data items. As described above, the hierarchical list of process data items includes a first hierarchical level that indicates an area in the process plant, a second hierarchical level that indicates the process equipment within the area in the process plant, and a third hierarchical level that indicates the modules within the process equipment. and/or a fourth hierarchical level indicating a particular process control system from the plurality of process control systems. In one scenario, mobile computing device 14 accesses a local copy of a hierarchical list of available process data items stored on mobile computing device 14. In another scenario, mobile computing device 14 requests that mobile server 178 obtain and send to mobile computing device 14 a hierarchical list of available process data items, or a portion thereof, in response to a query or search term. to the mobile server 178. In this scenario, the requesting mobile computing device 14 may also include user credentials corresponding to the user of the mobile computing device 14. Based on the user credentials, the mobile server 178 filters the hierarchical list of all available process data items for the one or more process control systems to include only those available process data items that the mobile server 178 has permission to access. .

In accordance with an aspect, the hierarchical list of available process data items may include a set of existing selections corresponding to the list. For this purpose, lists may be pre-created and stored in a list database interconnected with mobile server 178. Thus, the set of existing selections includes one or more selections of process data items that the list is currently configured to monitor. To receive this existing selection set, mobile computing device 14 sends an index of the list to mobile server 178. In response, mobile server 178 accesses the list in the list database and sends the existing set of selections to mobile computing device 14 . It should be understood that in embodiments where the list is a shared list, some of the existing selections may be selected by users other than the user of mobile computing device 14. Of course, if the user is configuring a new list, there will be no existing selection corresponding to the list.

At block 374, the mobile computing device presents a selection interface for selecting a process data item from a hierarchical list of available process data items. With simultaneous reference to FIG. 3P, interface 382 is an example selection interface presented by mobile computing device 14. To present the selection interface, application 16 auto-populates the hierarchical list of available process data items with the existing selection so that the selection interface indicates that the existing selection is included in the list. do. In the scenario illustrated by interface 382, the watchlist is automatically populated with watchlist items corresponding to O2 control, stream flow, gas flow, etc. The selection interface also allows the user to dynamically rearrange the order of items in the list, such as by dragging items to new locations in the list. In some embodiments, one or more of the items displayed in the selection interface includes a visualization of current process values and/or trends in existing process values.

In accordance with an aspect, the selection interface may also include a search interface for filtering the hierarchical list of available process data items based on search terms. As shown at interface 382, the search interface may include a search box configured to receive search terms. With simultaneous reference to FIG. 3Q, interface 384 is an exemplary search interface that shows search results. Interface 384 may be presented to a user who enters "Crude Tower Temp" into a search box presented in interface 382. Because the list shown in selection interface 382 is a watchlist, the search results are modules that match the search term (in this case, modules that are located in crude column process equipment and that include temperature parameters).
including. In one embodiment, selecting a module from the search results interface 384 causes the user to select a List items can now be selected. In embodiments where the list is an alarm list, search results interface 384 allows the user to select alarms associated with the module. In any case, the selection of process data items associated with the module includes process data in the selection of the set of process data items.

In another aspect, the selection interface may include a filter interface for filtering the hierarchical list of available process data items by entries included in hierarchical levels of the hierarchical list. With simultaneous reference to FIG. 3R, interface 386 is an example filter interface that shows a filtered hierarchical list of available process data items. Interface 386 may be presented in response to a user selecting an additional control on interface 382 or by selecting a filter control on an alternative selection interface. As shown on interface 386, the filter interface allows the user to select a location hierarchy level (e.g., location 1), an area hierarchy level (e.g., boiler area), a process equipment level (e.g., air), or a module hierarchy level (e.g., PIC -11-401) filtering becomes possible. In addition to hierarchical levels, filter interfaces allow process data items to be made available by functional classification (e.g. product quality or safety), priority (e.g. critical or advisory), and/or class (e.g. process or device). Filtering of a hierarchical list of process data items may be possible. In some embodiments, the hierarchical list of available process data items may also be filtered based on the access rights associated with the process data items (e.g., the location of the user who has access, the role of the user who has access, or (filtering based on the shift worked by the user). On the interface 386 shown, each process data item corresponds to a check box. Any selection of process data items included in the list (including existing selections) may include a check mark indicating that the list contains the process data item. A user may indicate a selection by checking a checkbox corresponding to an entry at a hierarchy level. Therefore, all process data items that are checked and/or hierarchically stemmed from checked entries are included in the selection of the set of process data items.

At block 376, application 16 receives a selection of process data items, eg, a set of process data items selected via a search interface and/or a filter interface. Next, at block 378, mobile computing device 14 transmits the set of process data items to mobile server 178. In some embodiments, mobile computing device 14 transmits a set of process data items as each selection is made. In another embodiment, mobile computing device 14 transmits the set of process data items after the user indicates that the user is finished configuring the list of process data items (e.g., by clicking Control Complete). do. In response, mobile server 178 updates the list database to include the process data items included in the set of process data items transmitted by mobile computing device 14 .

At block 380, mobile computing device 14 receives a set of data values associated with a set of process data items from mobile server 178. As described elsewhere herein, when the mobile server 178 updates the list as stored in the list database, the mobile server 178 updates the mobile computing device 14 with the set of process data items. Subscribe to a data stream of process values associated with a process data item. Accordingly, a portion of the set of data values received at the mobile computing device is received as part of the data stream of process values.

In some scenarios, the selection of a set of process data items received at block 376 includes an indication that the user has deselected a particular process data item included in the set of existing selections. To this end, the user may have unchecked a box in filter interface 386 and/or selected to delete a control corresponding to a process data item displayed in selection interface 382. Accordingly, in response to the mobile computing device 14 transmitting the deselected state indication to the mobile server 178 at block 378, the mobile server 178 may cause the mobile computing device 14 to identify the deselected process data item. Unsubscribe from the data stream associated with. As a result, the set of data values received from mobile server 178 at block 380 does not include data values associated with the deselected process data items.

In one aspect, the selection interface includes a comment interface. This comment interface allows a user of mobile computing device 14 to enter comments corresponding to the list and/or process data items included in the list. For example, the comment interface allows a list-level comment where the user is confident that the boiler is overheating, followed by a process data item-level comment for a process data item corresponding to boiler temperature that indicates the specific reason why the user is confident that the boiler is overheating. It may be possible to include. In this example, list level comments were entered into the comment interface while viewing the list view, and process data item level comments were entered into the comment interface while viewing the process data item. It should be understood that because these comments are associated with the list, the comments are visible to any user who views the list (assuming the user has appropriate access rights as described below).

According to an aspect, a list corresponds to a set of access rights that control the ability of other users to interact with the list. For example, access rights may include the right to view the list, the right to modify the list, the right to share the list, the right to view comments, and the like. These access rights may vary between different users and between users. Thus, in addition to configuring the process data items included in the list, the selection interface may also include a user access interface for configuring access to the list.

FIG. 3S illustrates an example user access configuration method 388 for configuring access rights to a list via an application, such as application 16, operating a mobile computing device, such as mobile computing device 14. User access configuration 388 may be implemented with multiple mobile computing devices in communication with mobile server 178. List construction method 368 may also be implemented, which may be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described herein.

Method 388 begins at block 390, where mobile computing device 14 receives a user and a corresponding set of access rights from mobile server 178. The corresponding access right indicates the type of access to the list for the corresponding user. Thus, the set of users may include a set of users with each type of access, for example a set of users with viewing access and/or a set of users with modifying access. To receive the user and the corresponding set of access rights, mobile computing device 14 transmits an indication of the list, e.g., an indication sent to receive an existing selection set as described with respect to method 368. It is possible.

At block 392, mobile computing device 14 presents a user access interface on GUI 18 of mobile computing device 14. A user access interface may be presented in response to a user selecting a user control shown in interface 382 or 386. With simultaneous reference to FIG. 3T, interface 398 is an exemplary user access interface that displays a set of users. As shown in interface 398, the user access interface allows a user of mobile computing device 14 to grant access rights for an individual user (e.g., Bob or Jenny) or a group of individuals (e.g., DHT Operator or Environmental). be able to configure. Although interface 398 shows only functional classification groups, the user access interface may also include groups arranged by the user's location within the group, the shift the user within the group worked, and/or the user's role within the group.

On the interface 398 shown, each user or group of users corresponds to a check box. Any selection of the user (including existing selections) may include a checkmark indicating that the list provides access to the user. Accordingly, a user may indicate a selection of access rights by checking a checkbox corresponding to a particular user or group of users. Although not shown in interface 398, the user access interface may allow a user to set access rights differently for different types of access. To this end, the user access interface may include an access rights selection interface that allows the user to switch between the various configured access rights. In one scenario, a particular user has access to view the list, but does not have access to modify the list. In one aspect, the user access interface includes a search interface configured to filter the set of users based on search terms.

At block 396, mobile computing device 14 receives selection of a set of user access rights. More specifically, mobile computing device 14 receives a set of user access rights selections made by the user during interaction with the user access interface.

At block 396, mobile computing device 14 sends the set of user access rights to mobile server 178. In response, mobile server 178 updates the record corresponding to the list in the list database according to the set of user access rights. As a result, if the set of user access rights includes a new access right for a particular user, the mobile server 178 updates the set of data values associated with the set of process data items included in the list to that particular user. mobile computing device. Additionally or alternatively, mobile server 178 may send a notification to that particular user's mobile computing device to inform the user about the new access rights. In one embodiment, application 16 allows a user to send notifications from mobile computing device 14, for example, via SMS messages or a messaging service supported by application 16. In one aspect, the user access interface includes an interface for receiving notes (text and/or audio recordings) for inclusion in the notification. As a result, regardless of how the notification is sent to a particular user's mobile computing device, the notification includes a note.

Minor changes to the configuration methods and displays described above may be required or desired to configure the mobile device 14 to display batch data, including faults and prompts, to a remote user. A method 700 for configuring a list of batch data via an application, such as application 16, is shown in FIG. 4K. Method 700 may be implemented at multiple mobile computing devices in communication with mobile server 178. Method 700 may also be implemented in conjunction with one or more of the other methods described herein.

4K-4P, in method 700, a user enables provisioning of batch data to mobile server 178 (block 702). Referring to FIG. 4L, enabling the provision of batch data to the mobile server 178 may include distributing batch executive data to the various data types that the mobile server 178 is configured to access, as shown in FIG. 4K. This may include selecting as one of the following: FIG. 4K shows computer interface 522 that allows a user to enable various types of process data to be included in the data provided to mobile server 178. Specifically, interface 522 includes a checkbox control 524 to enable batch data.

The method 700 also includes receiving a selection of a batch executive source of batch data (block 704). When a user enables provisioning of batch data to mobile server 178 (eg, by selecting control 524), the interface prompts the user for one or more sources of batch data to include. Generally, the batch data will be sourced from the batch executive, so the user will enter the path to the location of the batch executive into the associated control (not shown). In embodiments, a user may desire to include batch data from multiple batch executives. In such cases, the interface may include an option to add multiple batch executives to serve as data sources for mobile server 178. Alternatively, a source of batch data may be configured for each configured batch list, as described below.

Upon enabling batch data provisioning to the mobile server 178, one may choose to configure a list of batch data items so that the system receives an indication that the user has done so. (block 706). Receiving an indicator may include receiving a selection and creating a new list, and specifically may include receiving a selection and creating a new list of batch data. Interface 522 then displays available batch data including batches, recipes, unit procedures, operations, phases, equipment, parameters, alarms, faults, prompts, and any other information that may be part of the batch executive. A hierarchical list may be accessed (block 708) and a selection interface may be presented to the user that allows the user to configure a list of batch data (block 710).

One example selection interface is shown in FIGS. 4M-4P. In the properties portion 530 of the selection interface (see FIG. 4M), the user enters a name for the list of batch data in a first field 532 and, if desired, a description of the batch data included in the list in field 534. can be entered. In the filter portion 540 of the selection interface (see FIG. 4N), the user may configure exactly what data should be included in the batch list. The user may then first select a batch executive using, for example, a control 542 (eg, a pull-down list, a field in which the batch executive's path is entered, etc.). It is noted that selection of a batch executive or provision of a path to a batch executive is provided in the selection interface in this example, but may be provided elsewhere in the configuration in other embodiments, as described above. I want to be understood.

After configuring the batch executive path, the user may provide filter criteria according to which data is selected from the selected batch executives for inclusion in the batch list. In embodiments, the batch data available from the selected batch executive may be filtered according to criteria: input into batch ID field 544 (to select batch data associated with a particular batch ID); recipe field 546 (to select batch data associated with a particular recipe); input to prescription field 548 (to select batch data associated with a particular recipe); input to status field 550 (to select batch data associated with a particular recipe); input into the area field 552 (to select batch data associated with a region of the process plant); input into the equipment field 554 (to select batch data that is relevant to a particular piece of equipment); input to unit field 556 (to select batch data associated with a particular unit); input to phase field 558 (to select batch data associated with a particular phase); and/or failure Fill in field 560 (to select batch data associated with a particular failure type). Of course, a user may enter criteria in any one or more of fields 542-560 to effectuate selection of particular batch data to be provided to the batch list. By way of example and not limitation, a user may enter recipe information in field 546 to select batch data associated with a particular phase of a particular recipe, regardless of the batch, region, unit, etc. in which that recipe phase is being executed. , enter the phase in field 558 and leave all remaining fields (except Batch Executive field 542) blank (or enter an asterisk (*) to indicate "all data").

The user may also use the parameters portion 570 (see FIG. 4O) of the selection interface to add various parameters that should be viewable on the mobile device as data for a particular batch step according to filter criteria. The parameter filtering interface shown in FIG. 4O, similar to the filtering described with respect to FIG. 4N, may use various combinations of parameters to achieve the exact group of parameters that the user desires to see. For example, by entering values in recipe field 572 and module parameter field 576 rather than in unit field 574, a user can send data about a particular module parameter associated with a particular recipe to the unit on which the recipe is running. You can specify to receive it regardless.

Finally, the user may use the user selection portion 580 (see FIG. 4P) of the selection interface to configure which users and/or groups will receive prompts associated with the selected batch data, and If a delay is implemented, one may choose how long to wait for a prompt to be acknowledged before sending notification of the prompt to the selected user. In FIG. 4P, for example, user Nick is selected to receive a prompt related to the selected batch data (using user selection control 582. Specifies that notifications for any given prompt should only be received if the prompt remains unused.

In any event, once the interface receives a selection of batch data items from the user (block 712), the selected set of process data items is sent to the mobile server 178 (block 714), and the mobile server 178 selects the batch data items. A set of data values associated with the set is received (block 716).

The following list of aspects reflects the various embodiments expressly contemplated by the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the following aspects are not intended to limit the embodiments disclosed herein, nor are they exhaustive of all embodiments that may be envisioned from the above disclosure, but rather are illustrative in nature. It will be easy to understand that this is the case.

1. A method of providing batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device, the method comprising receiving at a first computing device a request to create a list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device. presenting a selection interface to a user to facilitate selection of batch data to be provided to a remote computing device; receiving at a first computing device via a selection interface, the batch executive operating on a controller within the process plant; receiving at the first computing device and applying filter criteria to the data available from the batch executive at the first computing device to be included in a list of batch data provided to the remote computing device; A method comprising: determining a set of data; and transmitting to a mobile server an indication of the set of data associated with a list of batch data provided to a mobile device.

2. The method of aspect 1, wherein the filter criteria are selected from the group including batch ID, recipe, formulation, condition, region, equipment, equipment, phase, and fault.

3. applying the filter criteria to the data available from the batch executive to determine the set of data results in a set of data for which prompts and/or obstacles may be generated, receiving one or more user selections; The method of aspect 1, further comprising receiving a prompt and/or notification of a failure.

4. As set forth in aspect 3, further comprising receiving a selection of a delay time, the delay time identifying a period of time that the prompt should remain active before the notification is sent to the selected one or more users. the method of.

5. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores machine-readable instructions optimized for a microprocessor on a mobile computing device, the computer-readable medium storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, display a graphical user interface (GUI). , receiving via a GUI a selection of one or more items for viewing, each of the one or more items being associated with a batch process executing within the process control system; and transmitting a selection of one or more items to a mobile server via either the Internet or a cellular data connection, and transmitting a plurality of real-time values corresponding to the selected one or more items to a mobile server via either the Internet or a cellular data connection. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium that causes a microprocessor to receive from a mobile server over any of the cellular data connections and to display a plurality of real-time values on a GUI.

6. 6. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 5, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying one or more batches being executed by a batch executive.

7. 7. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 5 or aspect 6, wherein displaying a plurality of real-time values on the GUI comprises displaying for a plurality of batches of status data.

8. Aspect 7, wherein the status data includes elapsed execution time for each of the plurality of batches.
A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in .

9. 9. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 7 or aspect 8, further comprising displaying, for each of the plurality of batches in which a prompt or failure exists, an indication that a prompt and/or failure exists.

10. 10. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of aspects 7-9, further comprising displaying, for each of the plurality of batches, a batch recipe associated with the batch.

11. further providing controls on the GUI to toggle the display between displaying the plurality of batches, displaying a list of equipment associated with the plurality of batches, and displaying a list of active prompts associated with the plurality of batches; 11. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of aspects 6-10, comprising:

12. Displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying one or more batches being executed by a batch executive, receiving a selection of one of the one or more batches; and displaying, for the selected one of the batches, a list of one or more unit procedures associated with the selected one of the batches. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described.

13. receiving a selection of one of the one or more unit procedures and, for the selected one of the unit procedures, one or more operations associated with the selected one of the unit procedures; 13. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 12, further comprising: displaying a list of.

14. receiving a selection of one of the one or more operations and, for the selected one of the operations, a list of one or more phases associated with the selected one of the operations; 14. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 13, further comprising: displaying.

15. receiving a selection of one of the one or more phases and, for the selected one of the phases, at least the status of the phase, the parameters of the phase, and/or the prompts and/or associated with the phase; 15. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of aspect 14, further comprising: displaying phase details including failures.

16. An aspect further comprising: displaying a prompt associated with a batch process running within a process control system; and displaying a control to facilitate recognition of the displayed prompt by a user of a mobile device. 16. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of items 5 to 15.

17. The tangible non-trivial method according to any one of aspects 5 to 16, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying, for status data related to the batch, a time when the status became active. Transient computer-readable medium.

18. According to any one of aspects 5 to 17, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying details of the operation, and the details of the operation include the device on which the operation is active. tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium.

19. Any one of aspects 5 to 18, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying details of a unit procedure, and the details of the unit procedure include the device on which the operation is active. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in .

20. When the control is selected so that the display toggles to show a list of equipment that is associated with multiple batches, the display further shows, for each equipment, how many phases are active on the equipment. 12. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11.

21. Aspect 11, wherein when the control is selected to switch the display to display a list of prompts associated with multiple batches, the display further indicates, for each prompt, the text of the prompt and the amount of time the prompt has been active. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in .

Claims (21)

A method for providing batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device, the method comprising:
receiving at a first computing device a request to create a list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device;
presenting a selection interface to a user to facilitate selection of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device;
receiving at the first computing device via the selection interface a selection of a batch executive to provide the batch process data therefrom, the batch executive being on a controller in the process plant; working with, receiving and
receiving one or more filter criteria at the first computing device via the selection interface;
applying, at the first computing device, the filter criteria to data available from the batch executive to determine a set of data to be included in the list of batch data provided to the remote computing device; and,
transmitting to a mobile server an indication of the set of data associated with the list of batch data provided to the mobile device. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the filter criteria are selected from the group including batch ID, recipe, prescription, condition, region, equipment, equipment, phase, and fault. applying the filter criteria to the data available from the batch executive to determine the set of data results in a set of data for which prompts and/or faults may be generated;
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more user selections to receive notification of the prompt and/or failure. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a selection of a delay time, the delay time identifying a period of time that a prompt should remain active before a notification is sent to the selected one or more users. The method described in 3. a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing machine-readable instructions optimized for a microprocessor on a mobile computing device, which, when executed by the microprocessor;
Displaying a graphical user interface (GUI);
receiving, via the GUI, a selection of one or more items for viewing, each of the one or more items being associated with a batch process being executed within a process control system; to do and
transmitting the selection of the one or more items to a mobile server via either the Internet or a mobile phone data connection;
receiving a plurality of real-time values corresponding to the selected one or more items from the mobile server via either the Internet or the mobile phone data connection;
and displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI. 6. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying one or more batches being executed by a batch executive. 6. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying for a plurality of batches of status data. 8. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the status data includes elapsed execution time for each of the plurality of batches. 8. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising displaying, for each of the plurality of batches in which a prompt or failure exists, an indication that a prompt and/or failure exists. 8. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising displaying, for each of the plurality of batches, a batch recipe associated with the batch. providing controls on the GUI to toggle the display between displaying a plurality of batches, displaying a list of equipment associated with the plurality of batches, and displaying a list of active prompts associated with the plurality of batches; 7. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, further comprising: Displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying one or more batches being executed by a batch executive;
receiving a selection of one of the one or more batches;
6. Displaying, for the selected one of the batches, a list of one or more unit procedures associated with the selected one of the batches. tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium. receiving a selection of one of the one or more unit procedures;
13. Displaying, for the selected one of the unit procedures, a list of one or more operations associated with the selected one of the unit procedures. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described. receiving a selection of one of the one or more operations;
14. Displaying, for the selected one of the operations, a list of one or more phases associated with the selected one of the operations. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium. receiving a selection of one of the one or more phases;
displaying phase details for the selected one of the phases, including at least the status of the phase, parameters of the phase, and/or prompts and/or obstacles associated with the phase. , the tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14. displaying a prompt associated with a batch process running within the process control system;
6. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, further comprising: displaying a control to facilitate recognition of the displayed prompt by the user of the mobile device. 6. The tangible, non-transitory computer of claim 5, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying, for status data associated with a batch, a time when the status became active. readable medium. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying details of an operation, the details of the operation including the device on which the operation is active. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium. 6. Displaying the plurality of real-time values on the GUI includes displaying details of a unit procedure, the details of the unit procedure including the device on which the operation is active. Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium as described. When the control is selected so that the display toggles to show a list of equipment associated with the plurality of batches, the display shows, for each equipment, how many phases are active on the equipment. 12. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, further indicating. When the control is selected so that the display switches to display a list of prompts associated with the plurality of batches, the display displays, for each prompt, the text of the prompt and the amount of time the prompt has been active. 12. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, further indicating.

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