Integrated diagnostics in a process plant having a process control system and a safety system
US6975966B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 26, 2003 |
| Grant date | Dec 13, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 26, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05B23/027
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A process plant includes a safety system that is physically and logically integrated with a process control system such that the safety system and the process control system can use common communication, diagnostic and display hardware and software within the process plant while still providing functional isolation between the safety system controllers and the process control system controllers. This integrated process control and safety system uses a common data communication structure for both the safety system and the process control system so that applications can send data to and receive data from devices in either system in the same manner, e.g., using the same communication hardware and software. However, the common data communication structure is set up to distinguish process control system devices from safety system devices using tags, addresses or other fields within the messages sent to or received from the devices, which enables data associated with the process control system to be distinguishable from data associated with the safety system, thereby enabling a diagnostic application within a user interface to automatically treat this data differently depending on the so…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.