Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100123594 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO INFORMATION PRESENTED VIA ELECTRONIC DISPLAYS TO PROCESS PLANT OPERATORS - Example methods and apparatus to draw attention to information presented via electronic displays to process plant operators are disclosed. A disclosed example method to draw attention to information presented to a process plant operator comprises presenting an electronic process plant display, collecting process plant data, processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant, and modifying the electronic process plant display to at least partially obscure substantially all of the process plant display except for the identified portion. | 05-20-2010 |
20120035749 | SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF PROCESS CONTROL DEVICES IN A PROCESS CONTROL ENVIRONMENT - In order to facilitate seamless integration of process control devices in a process control system, an integrated seamless diagnostic device collects diagnostic data related to the operation of (or problems associated with) one communication link that supports one process control protocol but communicates the collected diagnostic data to other entities in the process control system via another communication link that supports a different process control protocol. As a result, problems with the communication link monitored by the integrated seamless diagnostic device can be reported to the appropriate entities in the process control system as they occur and without unwanted delay. Moreover, problems with the monitored communication link can be communicated to the appropriate entities via process control protocols that are understood by those entities (and other entities in the process control system) and without consuming the potentially valuable resources of the monitored communication link. | 02-09-2012 |
20130081130 | METHODS, APPARATUS, AND ARTICLES OF MANUFACTURE TO PROVIDE FIREWALLS FOR PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS - Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide firewalls for process control systems are disclosed. An example method includes analyzing a network communication to identify a first service, an address associated with the first service within a secured portion of a network, and a subset of ports used by the first service, the network communication originating from within the secured portion of the network and to be transmitted to a destination outside of the secured portion of the network, and storing an identifier of the first service, the address, and the subset of the ports when the network communication includes the identifier, the address, and the subset of the ports. | 03-28-2013 |
20130190897 | Asset Data Modules Including an Integral Near Field Communication Interface - The present disclosure relates to various assets utilized within manufacturing and process plants for monitoring and control purposes. The asset data modules of the present disclosure include an integral near field communications (NFC) interface configured to provide access to asset data stored within memory integral to the given asset. | 07-25-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090062931 | Appendable System and Devices for Data Acquisition, Analysis and Control - An appendable system includes a plurality of appendable devices that are adapted to interoperate with each other and/or a workstation via a communication network to monitor and/or control a process. Each of the appendable devices can communicate with one or more sensors and/or control outputs and includes a housing that facilitates mounting of the appendable device to a surface. | 03-05-2009 |
20090065578 | Location Dependent Control Access in a Process Control System - A method of accessing an element in a process control environment using a portable communicator includes defining a plurality of control areas within the process control environment, determining a position of a user operating a portable communicator with respect to one or more of the control areas, establishing an identity of the user, and selectively allowing the user to access an element within the process control environment via the portable communicator depending on the determined position of the user with respect to the one or more control areas and on the identity of the user. | 03-12-2009 |
20100077471 | One Button Security Lockdown of a Process Control Network - Proper function and security of a complex network for communicating data within a process control system may be manually or automatically “locked-down” with a single command for an entire process control network or portions of the network. A user or application monitors network communication over multiple network devices. Once the network is configured and properly communicates data over the process control network, the application may lock down the network by deactivating or “locking out” access points on the network that are open and unused or have invalid connections. Locking down the network may essentially freeze it in a properly configured and functioning state and restrict future re-configuration of the network devices or harmful communication over an open or unused access point. When locked, is a currently connected device is unplugged and a different device is plugged into the access point, the network device may refuse the connection. | 03-25-2010 |
20110022187 | PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM WITH INTEGRATED EXTERNAL DATA SOURCES - Methods and systems for integrating external and/or enterprise data into a process control system are disclosed. A user interface may be provided to enable browsing and selection of a data item from an external and/or enterprise data source. The selected data item may be associated with a process control entity. At run time, independent of a configuration of the process control entity, an external data integration server or instance of an external data integration service at a process control computing device may periodically communicate with the data source to obtain an updated current value and updated current status for the selected data item for use by the process control entity. The external data integration server and/or external data integration service may consolidate access of external/enterprise data across process control entities, optimize communications with various data sources, and maintain a status of communication with each various data source. | 01-27-2011 |
20110029102 | Graphical View Sidebar for a Process Control System - A secondary or “sidebar” display within a process control environment may provide several small applications to allow business managers, engineers, maintenance personnel, or other non-operator personnel to organize and manage process control system information and to display selected diagnostics and summary information or “key operating parameters” for the process control system. Further, sidebar applications may communicate with other applications that are executing on a non-operator user's workstation to, thereby, retrieve information related to tasks that the user is currently completing. The sidebar application may then determine whether certain process control information may be useful for the main task the user is completing and display that process control information within the sidebar. | 02-03-2011 |
20110134973 | APPENDABLE SYSTEM AND DEVICES FOR DATA ACQUISITION, ANALYSIS AND CONTROL - An appendable system includes a plurality of appendable devices that are adapted to interoperate with each other and/or a workstation via a communication network to monitor and/or control a process. Each of the appendable devices can communicate with one or more sensors and/or control outputs and includes a housing that facilitates mounting of the appendable device to a surface. | 06-09-2011 |
20120041570 | Efficient Design and Configuration of Elements in a Process Control System - A process control configuration method in a user interface of a computer system for developing control strategies of a process plant, where the user interface defines a screen area to display a plurality of independent panes therein, includes generating a first edit pane, including displaying a graphical representation of a first set of logical or physical entities for carrying out respective process control operations in the process plant; generating a second edit pane, including displaying a graphical representation of a second set of logical or physical entities for carrying out respective process control operations in the process plant, wherein each in the first set and the second set of logical or physical entities includes at least one input and at least one output, and wherein each of the first edit pane and the second edit pane defines an independent user interface screen within the screen area; receiving a first selection of an output of a first entity in the first set of logical or physical entities; receiving a second selection of an input to a second entity in the first second of logical or physical entities; and automatically generating respective visual indicators in each of the first edit pane and the second edit pane in response to receiving the first selection and the second selection, wherein the visual indicators depict respective endpoints of a connection between the first entity and the second entity. | 02-16-2012 |
20120078403 | USE OF A REALLY SIMPLE SYNDICATION COMMUNICATION FORMAT IN A PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM - Devices and applications within a process control system make data generated therein available using a really simple syndication (RSS) XML communication format, thereby making this data easily retrievable from the plant and useable for various purposes both within and outside of the plant. The RSS data communications may provide RSS data for use in control of the plant or for use in other applications not directly associated with the control of the plant, including third party applications run on devices outside of the plant. The RSS data sent from one device to another may include enclosures, such as video, audio or text files, or may include references such as hyperlinks to other sources of information stored on the receiving device or on a further device that may be accessed and used to understand or process the RSS data. | 03-29-2012 |
20130060351 | ASSET TRACKING IN PROCESS CONTROL ENVIRONMENTS - An asset tracking system for use in a process control environment may include one or more asset tracking devices and an asset tracking host. The asset tracking device may receive signals corresponding to a position or location of an asset to be tracked, and may communicate, using an industrial automation protocol such as wireless HART, an indication of the position to the asset tracking host. The signals may be GPS signals that are re-radiated into the process control environment. Other information, such as environmental data, may be communicated in conjunction with the position of the asset. The asset tracking host may store and/or display the data or information included in the message, and may send a different message to the asset tracking device. An asset tracking device may be included in a field device, a network device, or a portable communications device used in the process control environment. | 03-07-2013 |
20140257529 | BACKGROUND COLLECTION OF DIAGNOSTIC DATA FROM FIELD INSTRUMENTATION DEVICES - In a method and system, a device tag allows automatic configuration of a process control system to download and cache device diagnostic data associated with one or more process control field devices. The device diagnostic data are downloaded and cached using bandwidth not otherwise required for real-time process control communications. The device diagnostic data may be polled asynchronously and/or according to a low priority, background task. The device diagnostic data include one or more non-static parameter values. The cached parameter values may be used in display routines, control routines, or any routine for which the update frequency is sufficient. Each cached parameter value may also have associated with it a status. | 09-11-2014 |