Systems and methods for virtually tagging and securing industrial equipment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9804590-B2
Application number	US-201514870978-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2015
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium may include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, may receive a first set of data associated with a user, receive a second set of data associated with one or more lockout procedures performed by the user, receive a request to actuate a locking mechanism of an electronic lock configured to prevent a machine in an industrial automation application from being operational, and send a signal to the electronic lock to actuate the locking mechanism when the second set of data indicates that the lockout procedures have been performed by the user and the data corresponds to an authorized user.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, are configured to cause the processor to:
receive a first set of data associated with a user;
receive a second set of data associated with one or more lockout procedures performed by the user;
receive a request to actuate a locking mechanism of an electronic lock configured to prevent a machine in an industrial automation application from being operational; and
send a signal to the electronic lock to actuate the locking mechanism when the second set of data indicates that the lockout procedures have been performed by the user and the data corresponds to an authorized user.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to not send the signal when the lockout procedures have not been performed or the data does not correspond to the authorized user.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to receive location information from the electronic lock and determine a location, a position, or both the location and the position of the electronic lock based on the location information.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to:
receive an additional request to actuate the locking mechanism of the electronic lock from an authorized user; and
increment an authorized user count when the locking mechanism is already locked.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to:
receive a request from an authorized user to deactivate the locking mechanism of the electronic lock when the locking mechanism is locked;
decrement an authorized user count; and
send a signal to the electronic lock to deactivate the locking mechanism when the authorized user count is zero.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 3 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to:
determine navigational directions to the electronic lock based on the location; and
display the navigational directions on a display.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to send a request for log data to the electronic lock, wherein the log data comprises:
a record of times when the electronic lock has been locked and unlocked;
one or more identities of one or more users associated with operating the electronic lock for each respective time; or
both.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to enable certain functionalities on a graphical user interface when the lockout procedures are performed by the user and the data corresponds to the authorized user.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to wirelessly communicate directly with the electronic lock.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are configured to cause the processor to disable one or more functionalities of a graphical user interface when the lockout procedures are not performed by the user or the data does not correspond to the authorized user.

11. A system, comprising:
an electronic lock, comprising:
a first processor configured to receive an actuation signal;
a power source; and
a locking mechanism configured to physically lock out a machine from being operational; and

a computing device comprising a second processor configured to send the actuation signal to the electronic lock, wherein the actuation signal is configured to cause the locking mechanism to actuate when one or more access rights associated with the electronic lock correspond to one or more credentials of a user and one or more steps of a lockout-tagout procedure have been performed.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the electronic lock comprises a display configured to display information using electronic ink.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first processor is configured to cause the power source to supply current to a magnet to attract or repel an adjustable cable to lock or unlock the locking mechanism.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the power source comprises a pre-charged battery, a rechargeable battery, an energy-harvesting device, a continuous power source, or some combination thereof.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the energy-harvesting device is configured to convert motion, ambient light, thermal differences, or some combination thereof into electrical energy.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first processor is configured to store a record of times when the electronic lock is locked and unlocked, determine a user who operated the electronic lock at the respective times, and store an identity of the user.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein the electronic lock comprises a radio-frequency identification reader configured to receive a radio-frequency identification tag associated with a user that is operating the electronic lock.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the first processor is configured to determine whether the electronic lock is subject to tampering and perform one or more actions when the electronic lock is subject to tampering, wherein the one or more actions comprise sending one or more signals to shut down the machine or another machine in a facility having the machine and the another machine, send an alert notification to the computing device, trigger an alarm of the electronic lock, or some combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the electronic lock comprises a display that is configured to display information related to an identity of the user and a timestamp at which the electronic lock is actuated.

20. An electronic lock configured to physically lock out a machine from being operational, comprising:
a locking mechanism;
a processor configured to perform an action when the electronic lock is subject to tampering;
a transceiver configured to receive an actuation signal configured to actuate the locking mechanism and to send data associated with the locking mechanism to a cloud-based computing system; and
a memory configured store the data associated with the locking mechanism.

21. The electronic lock of claim 20 , wherein the data associated with the locking mechanism comprises a record of one or more times when the locking mechanism was locked and unlocked, one or more identities of users that operated the locking mechanism, or both.

22. The electronic lock of claim 20 , wherein the actuation signal is sent from a processor of a computing device when the processor determines that one or more steps of a lockout-tagout procedure have been performed and a user requesting to lock the electronic lock is an authorized user.

Assignees

• Rockwell Automation Tech Inc

Inventors

• Michalscheck Jimi R
• Michalscheck Kelly A
• Korpela Jessica L
• Reissner Kyle K
• Vasko David A
• Jauquet John J
• Ericsson Matthew R
• Wilber Andrew

Classifications

• G07C9/28

  the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence · CPC title

• G05B19/406

  characterised by monitoring or safety (G05B19/19 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02J4/00

  Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as AC or DC; Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks combining AC and DC sections or sub-networks (arrangements using intermediate DC-AC-DC conversion H02J1/002; arrangements using high-voltage DC [HVDC] links H02J3/36) · CPC title

• G05B2219/32368

  Quality control · CPC title

• G05B2219/50193

  Safety in general · CPC title