Data modeling studio

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9740802-B2
Application number	US-201414216823-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2014
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A data modeling studio provides a structured environment for graphically creating and executing models which may be configured for diagnosis, prognosis, analysis, identifying relationships, etc., within a process plant. The data modeling studio includes a configuration engine for generating user interface elements to facilitate graphical construction of a model and a runtime engine for executing data models in, for example, an offline or an on-line environment. The configuration engine includes an interface routine that generates user interface elements, a plurality of templates stored in memory that serve as the building blocks of the model and a model compiler that converts the graphical model into a data format executable by the run-time engine. The run time engine executes the model to produce the desired output and may include a retrieval routine for retrieving data corresponding to the templates from memory and a modeling routine for executing the executable model.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer system for facilitating graphical construction of a data model, wherein the data model analyzes data from a process plant to produce an output, the computer system comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable memory that stores a plurality of data model templates including one or more data source templates defining data sources within the process plant, one or more functional templates defining data processing routines to be performed on data retrieved from the data sources and one or more data output templates indicating processing to be performed on outputs of the data processing routines;
a configuration engine that operates on a computer processing device, including:
an interface routine that generates, via a user interface device:
a library region that displays graphical depictions of the plurality of data model templates including the data source templates, the functional templates and the data output templates; and
a canvas region that receives and displays user selections of the graphical depictions of one or more data model templates and one or more interconnections defining the connections between the selected and displayed data model templates;

wherein the configuration engine further operates to execute a software routine to enable a user to modify the data model templates depicted in the canvas region by defining specific parameters to be used in the data model templates and the interconnections between data model templates, to create interconnected model blocks forming a data model, wherein the data model includes a model input block defining a specific data source of data to be retrieved for the data model, one or more model functional blocks defining data processing procedures to be performed on the data from the specific data source and a model output block defining an operation associated with the output of the one or more functional blocks; and

a runtime engine that operates on a computer processing device to execute the data model.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of data model templates further includes at least one of a data flow template that graphically defines the movement of data within the data model.

3. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the data source templates defines data stored in a big data appliance of the process plant.

4. The computer system of claim 3 , wherein the big data appliance includes a unitary, logical data storage area including one or more data storage devices configured to store, using a common format, data corresponding to at least one of the process plant or a process that is controlled in the process plant, the data including multiple types of data.

5. The computer system of claim 4 , wherein multiple types of data include process plant configuration data, process plant control data, and process plant event data corresponding to the operation of the process plant.

6. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the functional templates defines a mathematical procedure to be performed on data input to the at least one of the functional templates.

7. The computer system of claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the functional templates defines one of a correlation procedure, a filtering procedure, a statistical processing procedure, a thresholding procedure, a partial least squares regression procedure, or a classification procedure.

8. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the data output templates produces an instruction to be provided to a process controller within the process plant.

9. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the data output templates defines a message to be provided to a user interface within or associated with the process plant.

10. The computer system of claim 9 , wherein the at least one of the data output templates defines a format in which an output of the data model is to be displayed on a user interface within or associated with the process plant.

11. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the data output templates defines an alarm to be provided to a user interface within or associated with the process plant.

12. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the runtime engine iteratively executes the data model using an output of a first execution of the data model as in input to a second execution of the data model.

13. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the runtime engine executes the data model on a periodic basis.

14. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the runtime engine executes the data model on a continuous basis.

15. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein a first one of the data source templates defines a data source of a first data schema and a second one of the data source templates defines a data source of a second data schema.

16. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein one of the data input templates defines a data source including a hierarchical structure associated with process plant configuration data.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the hierarchical structure includes a control system level and a physical process plant level.

18. The computer system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the data input templates defines a data source that streams data in real time or near real time using a streaming service.

19. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the functional templates implements one of:
a data integration technique that combines data from multiple data sources;
a data transformation technique that transforms data into a data format usable by another block of the data model; and
a data mining routine that identifies data patterns from data stored in a database.

20. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the configuration engine enables a user to interactively select data to be associated with a data input block of the data model.

21. The computer system of claim 20 , wherein the configuration engine includes a data explorer that enables a user to view data stored in a big data appliance of the process plant and to specify data within the big data appliance as data to be associated with a data input block of the data model.

22. A computer implemented method of facilitating graphical construction of a data model, wherein the data model analyzes data from a process plant to produce an output, the method comprising:
generating, by one or more processors, a library region that displays one or more graphical depictions of a plurality of data model templates, wherein the data model templates include one or more data source templates defining data sources within the process plant, one or more functional templates defining data processing routines to be performed on data retrieved from the data sources and one or more data output templates indicating processing to be performed on outputs of the data processing routine;
receiving, via a user interface device, a user selection of the graphical depictions of one or more data model templates, one or more specific parameters to be used in the data model templates and one or more interconnections defining the connections between the selected and displayed data model templates;
modifying, by the one or more processors, the received data model templates to create interconnected model blocks forming a data model, wherein the data model includes a model input block defining a specific data source of data to be retrieved for the data model, one or more model

Assignees

• Fisher Rosemount Systems Inc

Inventors

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

Classifications

• G06F9/4494

  data driven · CPC title

• G06F3/04842

  Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements (G06F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G05B19/41885

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

• G06F8/36

  Software reuse · CPC title