Collecting and delivering data to a big data machine in a process control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10223327-B2
Application number	US-201414174413-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2014
Priority date	Mar 14, 2013
Publication date	Mar 5, 2019
Grant date	Mar 5, 2019

Abstract

A device supporting big data in a process plant includes an interface to a communications network, a cache configured to store data observed by the device, and a multi-processing element processor to cause the data to be cached and transmitted (e.g., streamed) for historization at a unitary, logical centralized data storage area. The data storage area stores multiple types of process control or plant data using a common format. The device time-stamps the cached data, and, in some cases, all data that is generated or created by or received at the device may be cached and/or streamed. The device may be a field device, a controller, an input/output device, a network management device, a user interface device, or a historian device, and the device may be a node of a network supporting big data in the process plant. Multiple devices in the network may support layered or leveled caching of data.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method of delivering data using a first device of a process plant, the process plant operating to control a process, and the method comprising:
collecting first data at the first device, the first device being one of a field device or a controller that is communicatively coupled to the field device via an Input/Output (I/O) device disposed between the field device and the controller, the first device operating to control the process in the process plant, and the first device including:
a first interface via which the first device transmits, using a first protocol, data over a first communications network, the first communications network configured to transmit the first data between the first device and a process control system data appliance corresponding to the process plant for storage of the first data at a unitary, logical data storage area of the process control system data appliance, the unitary, logical data storage area configured to store, using a common schema, multiple types of data from a set of types of data corresponding to at least one of the process plant or the process being controlled, the set of types of data including continuous data, event data, measurement data, batch data, calculate data, and configuration data, the first communications network including a plurality of nodes that communicate using the first protocol, and the plurality of nodes including the first device, the process control system data appliance, and at least one field device and at least one controller operating in the process plant to control the process; and
a second interface via which the first device at least one of:
transmits, using a second protocol, process control data that is generated or created by the first device over a second communications network different than the first communications network to another process control device operating in real-time to control the process; or
receives, using the second protocol and via the second communications network, process control data that is used by the first device to control the process,
the second protocol being different than the first protocol, the second communications network being a process control network configured to transmit process control data generated by a plurality of process control devices to control the process in the process plant, and the plurality of process control devices including the first device, the at least one field device, and the at least one controller, and

wherein the process control data that is generated or created by the first device for transmission via the second communications network is a subset of the first data generated by the first device, and wherein the first data generated by the first device includes at least one of: (i) data that is generated by the first device for transmission, (ii) data that is created by the first device, or (iii) data that is received at the first device;
storing, in a cache included in the first device, the collected first data; and
causing at least a portion of the collected first data that is stored in the cache to be transmitted, by the first device using the first protocol via the first interface, over the first communications network for storage at the unitary, logical data storage area of the process control system data appliance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the first data at the first device comprises at least one of: collecting all data that is generated by the first device for transmission, collecting all data that is created by the first device, or collecting all data that is received at the first device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the first data at the first device comprises at least one of: collecting data that is generated by the first device for transmission at a rate of generation, collecting data that is created by the first device at a rate of creation, or collecting data that is received at the first device at a rate of reception.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the first data at the first device comprises collecting, at the first device, at least one type of data included in the set of types of data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the I/O device includes a field device interface and a controller interface, the I/O device has a device type of I/O device type, and the method further comprises:
receiving, at the first device, second data that is at least one of (i) generated for transmission or created by a second device, or (ii) received at the second device, the second device having a device type included a set of device types, the set of device types including field device, controller, and I/O device;
storing, in the cache of the first device, the second data; and
causing at least a portion of the second collected data to be transmitted, using the first protocol over the first communications network, for storage in the unitary, logical data storage area of the process control system data appliance.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein causing the at least the portion of the second collected data to be transmitted using the first protocol over the first communication network comprises integrally transmitting, using the first protocol over the first communication network, the at least the portion of the second collected data with the at least the portion of the first collected data.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
storing the collected first data in the cache includes storing, in conjunction with the collected first data in the cache, indications of respective times of generation or reception of the collected first data; and
causing the at least the portion of the collected first data to be transmitted comprises causing the at least the portion of the collected first data and the respective times of generation or reception of the at least the portion of the collected first data to be transmitted.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein storing the collected first data in the cache of the first device comprises storing the collected first data in the cache of the first device using the common schema used by the unitary, logical data storage area.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the at least the portion of the collected first data to be transmitted comprises streaming the first data.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein streaming the first data comprises streaming the data using a stream control transmission protocol (SCTP).

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing a streaming service via which the first data is streamed to one or more subscribers of the streaming service.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the at least the portion of the collected first data to be transmitted, using the first protocol via the first interface over the first communications network, for storage in the unitary, logical data storage area comprises transmitting, using the first protocol via the first interface over the first communications network, the at least the portion of the collected first data to another device that is included in the plurality of nodes of the first communications network and that is disposed in the first communications network between the first device and the unitary logical data storage area.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein transmitting the at least the portion of the collected first data to the another device comprises transmitting the at least the portion of the collected first data to one of: a particular process control device configured to control the process in real-time in the process plant, a network management or routing device, a historian device, or another device configured to temporarily stor

Assignees

• Fisher Rosemount Systems Inc

Inventors

• Nixon Mark J
• Blevins Terrence
• Christensen Daniel Dean
• Muston Paul Richard
• Beoughter Ken

Classifications

• G05B2219/31324

  Distributed real time knowledge, database · CPC title

• G05B2219/31211

  Communicate diagnostic data from intelligent field device controller to central · CPC title

• G05B19/41885

  characterised by modeling, simulation of the manufacturing system · CPC title

• G05B19/4188

  characterised by CIM planning or realisation · CPC title

• G05B19/41855 Primary

  by local area network [LAN], network structure · CPC title