MXPA99010047A - Distributed interface architecture for programmable industrial control systems - Google Patents

Abstract

An integrated control system comprises one or more controllers each equipped to perform a control function and to gather data (ordinarily from sensors or a video camera) relevant to the control function. Each controller contains computer storage means, such as computer memory, for storing the relevant data and instructions, associated with the data, for causing a remote computer to generate a visual display incorporating the data in a predetermined format;and a communication module for establishing contact and facilitating data interchange with the remote computer. The remote computer, in turn, also includes a communication module compatible with the controller-borne module, and which enables the remote computer to download the data, including current video information and/or historical and/or reference video information, and associated instructions from one or more controllers. The remote computer also includes a facility for processing the instructions to create a user interface encoded by the instructions, and which incorporates the data. In this way, controller data is coupled to instructions for displaying that data, and this totality of information is continuously accessible, on a freely selective basis, to the remote computer.

Description

"DISTRIBUTED INTERFACE ARCHITECTURE FOR PROGRAMMABLE INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS" REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation in part of the Application Serial Number 08 / 655,469, filed on May 30, 1996.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to industrial automation and, in particular, to communication with and among programmable controllers to operate and supervise industrial processes and equipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Sophisticated industrial processes, such as oil refining, automobile assembly or power generation, require cooperative execution of numerous interdependent tasks through many different pieces of equipment. The enormous complexity of ensuring the sequence and administration of the appropriate task, which requires not only procedural logic but constant monitoring of the equipment's state to organize and distribute operations and detect malfunction, has resulted in the extensive adoption of programmable controllers. These controllers operate the industrial equipment developed in accordance with a stored control program. When executed, the program causes the controller to examine the status of the controlled machinery by evaluating the signals from one or more detector devices (eg temperature or pressure sensors), and to operate the machinery (eg by energizing or de-energizing the operating components) based on a procedure framework, the control signals and, if necessary, more complex processing. The "inputs" to a specific controller can extend beyond the detected state of the equipment that the continuator operates directly to include, for example, its environment, the state of the related machinery or the status of its controllers. The control requirements become even more complicated when different aspects of the same total process are assigned to a remote equipment. These configurations frequently require high bandwidth reliable communication links to provide the necessary interconnection and handle the transfer of data between the controllers and the sensors in relation to their operation. In general, the operation of the process is supervised, at least intermittently, by supervisory personnel through one or more central management stations. Each station shows the status of the controllers (and their associated sensors) selected by the operator and presents the data in a certain significant format. The management station may or may not be placed in the same place as the supervised equipment; frequently, a central station has access to multiple sites (whether or not they perform related processes). Therefore, the communication link can be vital even in traditional industrial environments where the process equipment is physically close, since at least some supervisory personnel may not be. To facilitate the necessary communication, the controller processors and related computers (such as monitoring stations) are placed as a computer network. A network, basically, is a collection of interconnected computers that use a certain consistent protocol to communicate with one another. Typically, the network is organized in such a way that any computer can communicate with any other computer in the network. The communication protocol provides a mechanism by which messages can be decomposed and routed to a target computer identified by a certain form of address. The protocol can place a "header" of routing information in each component of a message that specifies the source and destination addresses, and identifies the component to facilitate the subsequent reconstruction of the entire message by the destination computer. This approach to data transfer allows the network to quickly and efficiently handle large communication volumes without reducing the transfer rate to accommodate long individual messages, or requiring each network computer to process each message on the network. The degree of routing depends on the size of the network. Each computer in a local network typically examines the header of each message to detect matches to that computer identifier; Multiple network systems use routing information towards the first components of the direct message to the appropriate network. The controllers have been interconnected by means of computer networks for a certain time; see e.g. U.S. Patent No. 5,307,463. In typical systems, a supervisory computer, which can be remotely placed from any or all controllers to which it has access, periodically interrogates the controllers that obtain the description of the process data or controlled machine, or the controller itself. This data is then available for analysis by the supervisory computer. Until now, however, the type of information obtainable, upon request from a controller, has been limited, while the interface used to present the information on the supervising computer is typically rudimentary. The last condition results from the multiplicity of data types offered by the controller. If each type of data to be rendered in a format would be appropriate to that data it would be necessary to equip the supervising computer with multiple interfaces and configure the operating application to ensure the type of data before selecting and sending the appropriate interface. Not only does this project impose a considerable real-time support load on the supervising computer, but it would also require a repertoire that is constantly expanding in graphic capabilities aimed at new forms of data released by the controllers. This can be especially annoying in highly - even internationally - distributed environments, since the controllers and their functionalities can be programmed by personnel who have no contact with those responsible for central supervision.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION BRIEF COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes the capabilities of the Internet and, more particularly, the interactive capabilities that remain available through resources such as the global wideband tape to shift the burden of providing the user with interfaces to change data forms from monitoring computers to controllers that they actually collect and disclose the data. Combining data with functionality to present that data to individual controller sites, the need to equip supervisory computers with specialized graphic capabilities is eliminated, along with the need for intense cooperation among the engineers responsible for the programming controllers of those who configure the computers that perform supervision. In addition, because Internet users are typically billed for connectivity to a single regime, the long distance charges that would accrue through the use of telephone lines for data communication are eliminated.

According to the invention, an integrated control system comprises one or more controllers each equipped to carry out a control function and collect the data (generally from the sensors) or visual information (eg from a video camera) related with the control function. The "relevant" data includes, as a minimum, any information on which control decisions or displaced states are made, but may also include information obtained from sensors not directly connected to the controller (eg, involving other controlled machines), but which however, it is significant for supervisory personnel. For example, a chemical synthesis process can be carried out at a controlled temperature to remain within an operating scale, but the optimum temperature can depend on the output of a previous process that is fed into the synthesis; in this case, the temperature of the synthesis process as well as the output which are related control parameters with respect to the synthesis process. Visual information may include real-time video or periodically sampled images from control panels, gauges indicating a parameter such as temperature, indicator lights or more usefully portions of the controlled equipment itself. In addition, a file that may be contained, for example, on the continuous web page of the video transmission site computer may include video data previously stored for comparison with the current video data. For example, the stored data can be historical data comprising previously recorded video images of machine conditions for a prior time or instead they comprise reference images showing, for example, the normal operation of the machine. Each controller contains computer storage media such as computer memory (volatile and / or non-volatile, such as random access memory ("RAM"), programmable read-only memory ("ROM") or Flash ROM) or a mass storage device, such as a CD-ROM hard disk, for storing related data and instructions, associated with the data to cause a remote computer to present the data (eg generating a visual presentation incorporating the data) in a predetermined format; and a communication mode to establish contact and facilitate the exchange of data with the remote computer. The remote computer, in turn, also includes a communication module compatible with the module and carrying the controller, and which allows the remote computer to download the data and associated instructions from one or more controllers. The remote computer also includes an installation to process the instructions to create a user interface - that is,, a visual presentation, which may include video presentations and / or graphics or other presentations that have a predetermined format - encoded by the instructions and that incorporates the data or otherwise allows the supervising engineer to obtain a large amount of information about of the controller as possible. In this way, the data of the controller is coupled with the instructions to present that data and this totality of information is continuously accessible, on a freely selective basis, for the distant computer. It should be noted that the system can include more than one remote monitoring computer, and any of these, in fact, may not be "distant" (in terms of distance); instead of which they can be present in the same place as the controlled process or equipment. In general, the supervisory computer or the supervisory computers function as glimpses with respect to the controllers in a flat network topology. The invention facilitates a complete window to the operation of one or more of the controllers and therefore, to the industrial equipment which they operate.

Using the invention, remotely placed personnel can monitor the efficiency or overall performance of the equipment, visually check the components of the machine, the work pieces or other critical components of the controlled system. In addition, the supervising engineer can carry out diagnostic checks or even carry out certain maintenance operations. For widely dispersed monitoring controls and operations, supervisory computers interact with controllers through the Internet, with controllers continuously connected to the Internet as "nodes." In local operations, the flexibility conferred by the Internet formalities can be retained in a restricted internal network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing discussion will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 schematically illustrates a controller in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 2 illustrates schematically a system incorporating multiple controllers, as shown in Figure 1, and a computer equipped with a browsing device, capable of providing access to data associated therewith.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The Internet, which can provide the means of communication of the present invention is a global "network of networks" that links millions of computers through tens of thousands of separate (but intercommunicating) networks. Through the Internet, users can access tremendous amounts of stored information and establish communication links with other Internet-based computers. Large amount of the Internet is based on the client server model of the information telephone exchange. This computer architecture, developed specifically, can accommodate the "distributed computing" environment that characterizes the Internet and its component networks, proposing a server (some of those called the host) - typically a powerful computer or group of computers, which they behave like a single computer - which serves the requests of a large number of smaller computers, or clients, that connect to it. The client's computers usually communicate with a single server at any time, even though they can communicate with one another through the server or they can use the server to reach other servers. A server is typically a large mainframe or group of minicomputers, while customers can be simple personal computers. The servers that provide access to the Internet for multiple subscriber customers are referred to as "access doors"; More generally, an access door is a computer system that connects two computer networks. In order to ensure proper routing of messages between the server and the proposed client, the messages are first disintegrated into data packets, each of which receives a destination address according to a consistent protocol, and which is they join when received by the target computer. A commonly accepted set of protocols for this object are the Internet Protocol or IP, which provides routing information; and the Transmission Control Protocol or TCP, according to which the messages are actually disintegrated into IP packets for transmission for subsequent collection and reassembly. TCP / IP connections are quite commonly used to move data through telephone lines.

The Internet supports a wide variety of information transfer protocols. One of these, the World Wide Continuous Tape (simply below the "continuous tape"), has recently been made to oscillate to the sky in importance and popularity; Of course, for many, the Internet is synonymous with the continuous tape. The information accessible on the continuous tape is identified by a uniform resource locator or "URL" that specifies the location of the file in terms of a specific computer and a location on that computer. Any Internet "node" - that is, a computer with an IP address (eg a permanent server continuously connected to the Internet or a client that has connected to a server and received a temporary IP address) - can give access to the file that involves the appropriate communication protocol and that specifies the URL. Typically, a URL has the format ht tp: // < guest > / < trajectory > , where "http" refers to the Hiper Text Transfer Protocol, the "guest" is the identifier of the server's Internet and "trajectory" specifies the location of the file inside the server. Each "continuous tape site" may leave available one or more "pages" or continuous tape documents that are prepared in a format, structured repositories such as an information tree, such as text, images, video, sounds and animations. An important feature of the continuous tape is the ability to connect a document with many other documents using the "hypertext" links. A link appears unobtrusively as an underlined portion of the text in a document; When the person viewing this document moves their cursor through the underlined text and makes some noise, the link - which is otherwise invisible to the user - is executed and the linked document is retrieved. That document does not need to be placed on the same server as the original document. The hypertext and the continuous tape search functionality is typically implemented on the client's machine using a computer program called a "continuous tape browsing device". With the client connected to an Internet node, the browsing device uses the URLs - which are provided by either the user or a link - to place, collect and present the specified documents. The "presentation" in this sense can vary from providing simple textual and illustration to providing real time presentation of audio and / or video segments or alarms, mechanical indications, printing or data storage for subsequent presentation. The browsing device passes the URL to a protocol handler on the associated server, which then retrieves the information and sends it to the browsing device for presentation; the browsing device causes the information to be collected (usually on a hard disk) in the client's machine. The same continuous tape page contains information that specifies the specific Internet transfer routine necessary to retrieve the document from the server where it resides. Therefore, customers in multiple locations can see the pages of the tape continuously downloading the duplicates of the web pages through the browsing devices of the servers where these web pages were stored. Browsing devices also allow users to download and store the data presented locally on the client's machine. Most web pages that are written in the HyperText Markup Language or HTML that disintegrate the document into syntactic portions (such as headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.) that specify the placement and content. An HTML file can contain elements such as text, graphics, charts and buttons and each one identified by a "tag". The markup languages, however, produce static continuous ribbon pages.

Recent innovations have allowed designers of the tape page to continue to overcome the static page appearance regulated by HTML. The Java language is a well-known interpreted computer language, independent of the machine that facilitates the dynamic presentation of information. The "small applications" encoded Java are single programs embedded within the pages of the continuous tape that can interact with the user locally, present movable animations and carry out other functions in the browsing devices "Java capable" - that is, Browsing devices that include a Java interpreter. The small application is transferred to the browsing device along with other continuous tape page information and is executed by the Java interpreter; the data that is acted upon by the small application can be placed on the same page or a continuous web page differently or entirely from a different server, since the small applications themselves can cause the browsing device to retrieve the information through the hypertext links. The active X controls represent a Java alternative, even though they typically require browsing devices and compatible computers. These programs can be written in many computer languages (including Java) and are usually collected in the machine code in which case they work only together with machines that operate the leafing devices with appropriate processor architectures. However, some languages will compile into machine-independent byte codes that can work in a variety of processor architectures. Suppose, for example, that a user client instructs the browsing device resident in the client to obtain a document that has the URL http: // host / file. html The browsing device contacts the HTTP server that works on the "guest" and requests the document file. html The server finds this document and sends it in accordance with the appropriate Internet protocol along with the Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extension or "MIME" identifier that specifies the type of document. When the client receives the document, the browsing device examines the MIME to determine if it is capable of autonomously presenting the document or if an external resource is necessary (e.g., a visual device specified to present video segments). In a simple case, the document could contain the text and graphics specified in HTML and specify an image that resides in a different file, on a different server or on the same server. The leafing device provides the document in accordance with the HTML instructions and requests the image by presenting it in the document as specified by the instructions when the image arrives. In more complicated cases, the document may contain, for example, Java instructions that are passed to the Java interpreter of the browsing device. The key to the concept of the continuous tape page is therefore the division of the functionality between the browsing device based on the client and the continuous tape page based on the server and the specific roles assigned to each one. The browsing device locates, collects and presents resources, runs hyperlinks and small applications, usually interprets the information from the continuous tape page; The continuous tape page contains the data, hyperlink addresses, transfer protocols, and computer instructions that define "potential functionality" that can be executed by the browsing device. In general, the pages of the tape remain on servers accessible through the Internet. However, the previously discussed mode for dividing the functions between the web pages and the browsing devices can be instituted in internal networks as well. These internal networks, sometimes called "intra-networks" support the TCP / IP communication protocol and typically serve the needs of a single business (or business department), which can be placed in a single site (with individual clients connected through a network of a simple local area) or multiple physically dispersed sites that require a wide area network, but without access to the Internet. Several of the computers that make up the Internet network can be used as servers for continuous tape pages, each with its own URL and offering access to network client computers via TCP / IP. A custom "continuous tape page" can be written to the controller in this inter-network. In this case, the JAVA small application software or similar executable code can be used to design a page or screen by providing a menu that contains a variety of monitoring tools for the system. Several monitoring functions can be executed by the controller when these monitoring tools are selected according to a predetermined protocol or as selected by a supervising engineer. The manner in which this divided functionality can be incorporated into a group of controllers of a monitoring system is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. With reference first to Figure 1, a representative controller architecture is generally shown. The controller 10 executes program instructions to operate, for example, a piece of industrial equipment and includes a central processing unit ("CPU") 12 and one or more computer storage devices generally indicated at 14. Generally, the device 14 storage is composed of a combination of volatile RAM for temporary storage and processing and a non-volatile programmable read only memory ("PROM") that contains permanent aspects of the operating instructions of the controller; however, storage of the computer 14 if desired may include mass storage facilities for a hard disk, a CD-ROM drive, etc. These on-board devices are useful and web pages or security features are expected to change frequently. The CPU 12 and the computer storage 14 communicate via a bus 16 of the internal system, the system further includes a series of input / output modules that are representatively displayed in 20 ?, 202 which detect the condition of and send signals control to the controlled machine through a communication link (indicated by arrows). This communication link facilitates the bi-directional exchange of signals between each 1/0 module and an associated device (e.g., a sensor or an actuator). In addition, the system includes a video block 21 and a video camera (or group of video cameras) generally represented at 21a. These are preferably digital video cameras associated with the supervised equipment that are directed to those portions of the supervised equipment that contain related visual information, such as the components of an operating machine from which the position or state of a work piece can be verified. . The video block 21 contains a conventional circuit suitable for digitizing still images captured by the whole 21a of the video camera or for transmitting full motion video signals received from the camera 21a as video via the Internet as part of a video site. continuous tape, for example, by any other appropriate communication channel. In addition, the video block 21 can respond to commands issued by a remote computer whose commands can include: selection of a specific camera from the group of video cameras, changing the orientation of a camera, altering the image capture rate video of a specific camera and / or respond to instructions related to how video information can be transmitted. The signals from this video camera assembly 21a will be an additional input to the bus 22 1/0, as shown in Figure 1 or optionally to a separate high bandwidth bus 31 for communication with the network interface 30 (for transmission of high bandwidth of the data to the host based on network). The I / O modules 20 as well as the network interface 30 that connects the controller 10 to a computer network remains on or defines a secondary I / O bus 22 that is driven by a bus transceiver 32; in fact, buses 16, 22 and bus transceiver 32 form a single logical bus. The network of the computer can be a network of local area of machines that communicate through for example, the Ethernet protocol, or a direct link to the Internet. In a local area network, computers can implement TCP / IP through low-level Ethernet hardware management routines to create an Internet or instead of this (or in addition to) they can be tied on the Internet as a node to through, for example, hanging the phone on an external guest computer that serves as a commercial Internet provider. The storage 14 contains a series of functional blocks or modules that implement the functions carried out by the controller 10 through the operation of the CPU 12. A control block 35 contains instructions for operating the I / O modules 20. These instructions are read in rapid sequence and are interpreted to examine the condition of the selected detector devices associated with the controlled equipment and based on this to cause the controller to send appropriate operational control signals to the equipment. Typically, the instructions are written in a relatively high level language that allows not only the manipulation of the input and output data, but also the arithmetic and synchronization functions, file handling capabilities and other complicated tasks. These instructions are translated into the readable code by the machine through an interpreter. For example, a standardized type of instructions symbolically represents control functions according to a relay ladder diagram, however, it is preferred to use state control languages that represent controller actions in terms of steps, each of which consists of of a command that creates the action and one or more instructions to get out of the way. The interpreters for these and other types of controller languages are well characterized in the art. See e.g. U.S. Patent Nos. 5,321,829 and 5,287,548 (all of the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference) and QUICKSTEP ™ User Guide by Control Technology Corporation, of Hopkinton, MA. The control block 35 contains both the high-level specific instructions for operating the controller 10 and the interpreter module for transferring these to the instructions processed by the CPU 12; its operating relationship with the I / O modules 20 is indicated by the dashed line. A network communication block provides programming to operate the local area network hardware and / or to connect to a remote network or network host. In the latter case, the communication module 37 drives a modem within a network interface 30 or other data transmission circuit to transfer the digitally encoded data streams through the telephone or other communication lines. The storage 14 also contains data structures defining one or more web pages that are representatively displayed at 40? 402. The web 40 pages consist of the ASCII data obtained from one or more of the I / modules 20. Or, HTML, instructions for formatting and associated data, "small" application instructions that causes a remote monitoring computer 50 appropriately equipped (Figure 2) to present the data in a dynamic manner or hyperlinks to other pages of the tape, objects or small applications. For example, a small application could cause the temperature data to be presented as a graphical representation of a thermometer, with the height of the mercury column supplied varying dynamically in proportion to the data of the I / O modules 20 (and constantly provides the remote computer through the network interface 30); the pressure data could be represented in the form of a needle-type pressure gauge supplied graphically. This performance and data integration are implemented directly for those skilled in the art (and familiar, for example, with the Java language) without undue experimentation. In accordance with the invention, the continuous tape pages for the supervising computer, or another remote computer in the control system can be constructed to further present the video information. Digital cameras (for example, which can be obtained in miniature sizes and can operate on a 12-volt DC power supply), easily allow the capture of an immobile image. Digital cameras capture the images in a charge-coupled device, and the images are then downloaded to the camera's RAM storage. The images can be transferred from the set 21a of the video camera of the video block 21 to the supervising computer 50 (Figure 2) via the network interface 30 under the command of the small JAVA application or other appropriate software for reconstruction of the image on the presentation monitor that is being used. The images can be downloaded from the camera to the controller's computer and can be refreshed, as desired, with each download. A full motion video can be easily obtained through the use of appropriate video cameras in the camera set 21a. The resulting video information can then be transmitted from the controller 10 back to the monitoring computer 50, in the desired manner. For example, the individual images or the full motion video can be transmitted again via the Internet to the continuous tape page of the monitoring computer 50. It is also possible to provide for switching between presentation formats, e.g., from periodically refreshed images to a full motion video (typically in response to instructions issued by the monitoring computer). This can be useful, for example, in the case of a military installation or a nuclear site. The appropriate circuit for achieving this switching will be provided in the video block 21, as desired, in the specific application as will be understood by those skilled in the art. A group of video cameras can be placed to provide alternative views of the supervised equipment, the supervisory computer or other meaningful visual information. When assessing the operation of the controlled system, the supervising engineer can select which video camera image from the images captured by the group of video cameras should be presented as well as the length of time in which this presentation is desired. The supervising engineer who explores the video / graphical presentation can, for example, decide to make an adjustment to the equipment and to check visually to make sure if the expected response or the event has occurred on the distant machine or in the distant process in response to adjustment. Alternatively, storage of the image database may be provided to facilitate the subsequent display of one or more images as part of the control sequence. In addition, the historical and / or reference video data may be stored within, for example, a file contained on a continuous web page of the computer on the video transmission site. As stated above, the historical video data shows the operation of the machine for a previous time while the reference video data shows a normal machine operation. This previously stored data may be selected for presentation by a remote operator for comparison with current video images (eg, in side-by-side window configuration for simultaneous presentation and which may also include a graphic frame illustrating a selected control or parameter of comparison). Accordingly, the present invention allows a remote operator to visually check a portion of the controlled equipment to verify that the machine is operating in accordance with the data being received. For example, a control for driving the piston controller can be provided and a video camera can be used to verify that the piston has been actuated. In addition, a video camera can transmit images of calibrators to verify that a control parameter conforms to the data received from the controlled system, or that a circuit disintegrator has been opened and a portion or all of the system has been disconnected. As will be understood by a person skilled in the art, there are any number of useful visual checks that can be carried out by a supervising engineer with respect to the controlled system using the video information obtained in accordance with the invention. Referring again to Figure 1, the administration and transmission of the continuous web pages 40 to an inquiry computer is handled by a continuous tape server module 45, which allows the controller 10 to function as the server of the network. Again, the particularities of this module are conventional in the art; see, v. g. , Yuval Fisher, Spinning the Web (Springer 1996). The input data from the I / O modules 20 can be processed by the control block 35 before being copied to one of the web pages 40. Due to the linking capabilities of the continuous tape, it is not necessary that the data is stored on the continuous tape page containing the presentation instructions; instead, the last page may contain a "hyperlink" indicator to a different continuous tape page where the data is accumulated. In addition, a continuous tape page may obtain the data from other continuous tape pages (e.g., from different controllers) giving access to those continuous tape pages when appropriate. For example, if a group of controllers is functionally related in such a way that the data of one is combined in a useful way with the data of the others, each page of the set or group can contain instructions to give access to the other pages (or their associated data pages) when accessed by a user, and the small application can be configured to cause the client's browsing device to access the continuous tape page. As used herein the data is "associated with" a continuous tape page or a small application if it is stored as part of the tape page or small application, or stored on a direct hyperlinked continuous tape page or indirectly. Reference is now made to Figure 2 which illustrates the manner in which multiple versions of the controller 10 are linked and interrogated by one or more monitoring computers. The computer 50 that interrogates that it functions as a client of the network, for example, can be a personal computer that operates the graphical user interface of windows provided by Microsoft Corp. The computer 50 includes a network interface 52 that facilitates the connection with and the transfer of data through a computer network (which again can be a local network, the Internet or a local network linked to the Internet). The communications related to the present invention are handled by a continuous ribbon browsing device 57, which remains inside the computer 50 and which operates the computer's display device (eg, video or liquid crystal) 60. Naturally, the computer 50 also contains several conventional components, i.e., the system storage, an operating system and a graphic user interface, and a keyboard and / or position detecting device, (e.g., a mouse) to accept the input from the user. For reasons of presentation convenience, these have not been shown. Browsing device 57 contains the functionality to locate and retain through the network 55 continuous tape articles (eg, static pages or pages containing small dynamic applications) identified by URLs, presenting them, executing the small applications, executing the hyperlinks contained in continuous tape pages and which are selected by the user or invoked in a small execution application and which generally interprets the continuous tape page information. Continuous tape articles are usually contained in the continuous tape pages of one or more controllers 10] _, IO2, etc. As explained above, web pages contain data, hyperlink addresses, transfer protocols, and computer instructions that define small applications or links to them. The browsing device 57 can be any of numerous obtainable continuous web browsing devices, e.g., NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR (supplied by Netscape Communications Corp.) or MOSAIC (different versions of which can be obtained free of charge and a vapeda of continuous tape sites). In a work system, the network interface 30? 302, etc. of each controller in the system is constantly active and is in communication with the network 55, facilitating access through the computer 50 to any of the continuous tape pages based on the controller at any time. In this way, the computer 50 can examine the data associated with any controller simply by specifying the appropriate URL of the primary continuous tape page of the controller. The continuous tape page (and, preferably, a small application associated with it) is copied to the browsing device 57 and is presented together with the related data. For example, the small application, which runs on the client's computer 50, can autonomously access the continuous tape page different from the primary page of the originally specified client's user, all completely invisible to the user . This access may be periodic or essentially continuous for data subject to rapid change. Naturally, the accessibility of the control data network, particularly through the Internet, presents safety issues. It may be desirable to equip the continuous tape pages based on the controller with a particular password access feature whereby the browsing device 57 or a small execution application must present a password before accessing the associated data. In addition, the data can be encrypted before being placed on the network. These functions are handled by the communication module 37, which acts as a gateway to the tape server module 45. The safety clarification functions are conventional and are easily implemented by those skilled in the art. Security becomes particularly important if continuous tape pages based on the driver allow the client's computer not only to access the data but also to modify it. For example, even when the "read-only" access to control the data is sufficient to inform the customer's user of the state of the machine or controlled process, the user can not, if limited by this access, influence the operation of the controller. It can prove to be desirable therefore to allow a properly authorized customer to directly modify the control parameters (which can for example be stored on a restricted access web page) that determine the operation of the controller and therefore the controlled machine or process . Of course, a small application based on the controller invoked by the user's interaction with one of the continuous tape pages of the controller may allow the user of the remotely located client to operate the controller's hardware - for example, causing the The controller executes a reset routine that restarts the automatic equipment after it has been disconnected or causes the controller to operate in a step-by-step manner for diagnostic purposes. Therefore, it will be seen that the aforementioned represents a highly extensible flexible approach for remote access and presentation of controller information. Terms and expressions used herein are used as terms of description and not limitation, and there is no intent in the use of these terms and expressions, to exclude any of the equivalents of the particularities shown and described or portions thereof, but recognizes that several modifications are possible within the scope of the claimed invention.

Claims (40)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A controller capable of interacting with a supervisory station remotely placed, the controller comprises: a. a means for collecting the current video information related to a control function, the current video information being able to be recovered by a remote monitoring station; b. a means for transmitting the current video information to the remotely located monitoring station; and c. means for causing the remotely placed monitoring station to present the current video information in a predetermined format.

The controller of claim 1, wherein the means for collecting the current video information is a plurality of video cameras placed to retrieve the current video information related to the connected control function in such a way that at least one of the video cameras can be selected to present the current video information in the monitoring station in the predetermined format.

3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the means for collecting the current video information is at least one video camera having a selectable orientation and an image capture rate.

The controller of claim 3, wherein the video camera is a digital video camera that provides images for transmission in the monitoring station and display and the monitoring station in the predetermined format.

The controller of claim 1, wherein the means for transmitting the current video information includes a transmission medium coupled between the controller and the remotely located monitoring station, the transmission means including a computer network.

6. The controller of claim 4 wherein the predetermined format in which the current video information is presented is digital images refreshed periodically.

The controller of claim 4, wherein the predetermined format in which the current video information is presented is a full motion video.

8. The controller of claim 4, wherein the predetermined format in which the current video information is presented is a video presentation with a graphic frame inserted in a portion of the video presentation illustrating a selected control parameter.

9. The controller of claim 1, further comprising: a. a source of comparison video information comprising at least one historical video information and one reference video information related to the control function; and b. means for causing the remotely placed monitoring station to present the video information in comparison in a predetermined format.

The controller of claim 9, wherein the predetermined format in which the comparison video information is presented comprises a side-by-side presentation of the current video information with the comparison video information.

The controller of claim 10, wherein the predetermined format also includes a graphic frame inserted into a portion of the side-by-side display that illustrates a selected comparison control or parameter.

12. The controller of claim 1, further comprising a security means to prevent data exchange between the controller and an unauthorized user.

13. An integrated control system that includes: a. at least one controller comprising: i. a means for carrying out a control function; ii. a means for collecting the data and video information related to the control function; iii. a computer storage means for storing (a) the video data and information and (b) the instructions associated with the video information data, to cause a computer to present the data and the video information in a format predetermined; and iv. a means to facilitate the data and the exchange of video with a computer placed at a distance; b. at least one supervisory computer that includes: i. a means for facilitating the exchange of data and video with at least one controller selected to obtain the data, video information and instructions therefrom; and ii. a means to present the video data and information in the predetermined format.

The system of claim 13, wherein the means for facilitating the data and the video exchange of the controllers and the supervising computer is connected through a computer network.

The system of claim 13, wherein the means for providing the data and the video exchange and the means for presenting the data and the video comprise a continuous web browsing device configured to generate a visual presentation.

The system of claim 13 wherein the instructions cause the data and the video to be presented visually in the interactive user interface.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the controller and the supervising computer are connected through the Internet.

The system of claim 13 wherein the means for collecting the video information related to the control function includes a group of video cameras positioned to generate a plurality of images of the control system, and further comprises a means for selecting any of the video cameras to present a selected image of the control system.

19. A controller capable of interacting with a computer placed remotely, the controller comprises: a. a means to collect the data related to a control function, being able to recover the data by means of the computer placed at a distance; b. a computer storage medium comprising instructions capable of being recovered and executable by the remotely placed computer, the instructions are associated with the data and cause the remotely placed computer to present the data in a predetermined format.

20. The controller of claim 19 further comprising a communication module to facilitate the exchange of data between the controller and the remotely located computer.

21. The controller of claim 20, wherein the instructions cause the data to be presented visually in an interactive user interface.

22. The controller of claim 20, wherein the communication module connects to the Internet in order to make the controller a continuously active Internet node.

23. The controller of claim 19, wherein at least some data resides in a different controller, the data collection means is configured to give access and obtain the data of the different controller through a network of the computer.

24. The controller of claim 19, wherein at least some data resides in a different controller, causing instructions from the remotely located computer to obtain the different controller data through the computer network.

25. The controller of claim 19, wherein the data is continuously generated, causing the instructions of the remotely located computer to be retrieved continuously and present the changing data.

26. The controller of claim 20, wherein the communication module comprises a security means to prevent the exchange of data between the controller and the unauthorized computer.

27. An integrated control system that includes: a. at least one controller comprising: i. a means for carrying out a control function; ii. a means to collect the related data in the control function; iii. a computer storage medium for storing (a) the data and (b) instructions, associated with the data, to cause a computer to present the data in a predetermined format; and iv. a means to facilitate the exchange of data on a computer placed at a distance; b. at least one supervisory computer that includes: i. means for facilitating the exchange of the data with at least one controller selected to obtain the data and instructions therefrom; and ii. a means to prepare the data in the predetermined format.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for facilitating the exchange of the data of the controllers and the supervising computer are connected by a network of the computer.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for facilitating the data exchange and the means for presenting the data comprises a continuous web browsing device configured to generate a visual presentation.

30. The system of claim 27, wherein the instructions cause the data to be presented visually in an interactive user interface.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein the communication modules connect to the Internet, the communication modules of the controllers are continuously connected to make the controllers continually active Internet nodes.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein at least some data resides in a plurality of controllers, the means for facilitating the data exchange in the supervising computer is configured to give access and obtain the data of the controllers through of the computer network.

33. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one data resides in a plurality of controllers, the instructions causing a supervisory computer to obtain the data of the controllers through the network of the computer.

34. The system of claim 27, wherein the data is generated continuously, causing the instructions that a supervisory computer continually retrieves and presents the data that changes.

35. The system of claim 27, wherein the means for facilitating the exchange of the data of the controllers comprises a security means to prevent the exchange of the data between the controllers and an unauthorized monitoring computer.

36. A method to obtain and present the data associated with the control system, the method comprises: a. provide at least one controller comprising: i. a means to carry out a control function, ii. a means to collect data related to the control functionhe. ; iii. a means for storing (a) the data and (b) the instructions, associated with the data, to cause a computer to present the data in a predetermined format; b. cause that at least one controller carries out the function of controls and collects the data; c. cause a computer to access the data and execute the instructions presenting the data in a predetermined format.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one data receives a plurality of controllers, and further comprises the step of causing the accessing computer and obtaining the data of the controllers through a computer network.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one data resides in a plurality of controllers, and further comprises the step of causing the computer to obtain the data of the controllers through a network of the computer.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the data is generated continuously, causing the instructions that the computer continuously recovers and presents the data that changes from at least one controller.

40. The method of claim 36 further comprising the step of preventing the exchange of data between controllers and an unauthorized computer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An integrated control system comprises one or more controllers each equipped to carry out a control function and collect the data (generally from the sensors of a video camera) related to the control function. Each controller contains a computer storage means such as the computer's memory to store the data related to the instructions, associated with the data to cause a distant computer to generate a visual presentation incorporating the data in a predetermined format and a module. of communication to establish contact and facilitate the exchange of data with the distant computer. The remote computer, in turn, also includes a communication module compatible with the module carried to the controller that allows the remote computer to download the data including the current video information and / or the historical and / or video reference information and the associated instruction of one or more controllers. The remote computer also includes an installation to process the instructions for creating a user interface encoded by the instructions, and incorporating the data. In this way, the data of the controller is coupled with the instructions to present that data, and this totality of information is continuously accessible, on a freely selective basis, in the distant computer.