Method for monitoring a plant of the automation technology

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11188059-B2
Application number	US-201916574214-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2019
Priority date	Sep 24, 2018
Publication date	Nov 30, 2021
Grant date	Nov 30, 2021

Abstract

The present disclosure comprises a method for managing a plant of the automation technology, including a step of acquiring and storing all data transmitted via a communication network, consisting of process values, control variables and status data, and operating telegrams by a field detection unit, and providing the data and the operating telegrams with time stamps. The method also includes steps of temporally assigning the operating telegrams to the data, and analyzing the assignment and creating an intervention system. The intervention system contains plant states and interventions, wherein a plant state is created on the basis of transmitted data from a sensor unit and from an actuator unit, and wherein an intervention consists of at least one operating telegram following the transmitted data from the sensor unit and from the actuator unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for monitoring a plant of the employing process automation technology, wherein at least one sensor unit and at least one actuator unit and one field detection unit are used in the plant, wherein the sensor unit and the actuator unit are in communication with a higher-level unit via a communication network, wherein the sensor unit transfers process values and status data to the higher-level unit, wherein the actuator unit transfers control variables and status data to the higher-level unit, and wherein the higher-level unit transmits operating telegrams to the sensor unit and to the actuator unit, wherein the method comprises the following method steps:
acquiring and storing all data transmitted via the communication network, consisting of process values, control variables and status data, and operating telegrams by the field detection unit, and providing the data transmitted via the communication network and the operating telegrams with time stamps;
temporally assigning the operating telegrams to the data transmitted via the communication network; and
analyzing the assignment and creating an intervention system, wherein the intervention system contains plant states and interventions, wherein a plant state is created on the basis of transmitted data from the sensor unit and from the actuator unit, and wherein an intervention consists of at least one operating telegram following the transmitted data from the sensor unit and from the actuator unit.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the intervention system is continuously updated by currently acquired data and operating telegrams.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein on the basis of the intervention system, an intervention consisting of at least one telegram to be transmitted from the higher-level unit to the sensor unit or the actuator unit is calculated and proposed for the current plant state.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the proposed intervention is compared to a performed intervention and wherein a degree of correspondence is calculated.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein a user makes an evaluation of the proposed intervention by allocating a degree of correspondence to the proposed intervention.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the proposed intervention is performed automatically if, in at least a predetermined number of proposed interventions, the degree of correspondence is calculated or evaluated to be greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein a process control unit is used to create the intervention system and to calculate an intervention, wherein the process control unit contains information about end and intermediate results of the process which is being run in the plant.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the process control unit is used to evaluate performed interventions, wherein the evaluations of the performed interventions are included in calculating an intervention for the current plant state.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein at least one further actuator unit is used in the plant and has no connection to the communication network, wherein the further actuator unit is used to create and update the intervention system, and wherein the control variables of the actuator unit or changes to the control variables of the actuator unit are calculated using the process variables collected by the sensor unit.

10. The method of claim according to claim 9 , wherein the process control unit is used to calculate the control variables of the further actuator unit.

11. The method of claim 4 , wherein the steps of analyzing the assignment of the operating telegrams to the data transmitted via the communication network, of creating the intervention system, of calculating an intervention for the current plant state, of calculating the degree of correspondence and/or of evaluating performed interventions are carried out by the field detection unit using an artificial intelligence algorithm.

Assignees

• Endress Hauser Conducta Gmbh Co Kg

Inventors

• Wittmer Detlev
• Lefebvre Martine
• Beil Oliver
• Moore Thomas
• Spielmann Benedikt

Classifications

• G05B19/4184 Primary

  characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system · CPC title

• G05B2219/33022

  One network for learned signal values, one network for unknown signal values · CPC title

• Y02P90/02

  Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] · CPC title

• G05B2219/14006

  Safety, monitoring in general · CPC title

• G08C17/02

  using a radio link · CPC title