The present invention is concerned with providing means for uniform and location transparent access to real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data, from different sources to software applications in a computerized system for control. A computerised system for control includes control systems as such, process control systems and manufacturing execution systems. In particular the present invention concerns a method and computer program whereby a software application can use one and the same interface to access different data sources, regardless of what and how many different mechanisms are required to provide the access.
Systems for control and manufacturing execution include many and different types of software applications. An example is a process graphics package, which presents data items representing the current status of a process on a screen, and allows an operator to issue control orders by inputting new values for data items. Another example is an event logging function, which stores and presents information on events and alarms. Yet another example is a history package, which collects series of data item values for long-term storage, for presentation as trend curves or in other forms, and for further processing by other applications. Yet another example is a report package, which collects certain data items, performs some calculations, and presents the result as a report.
Yet another example is a calculation package, for example a spreadsheet application, which collects samples of data item values, performs certain calculations, and potentially writes back new values to the same or different data items. Yet another example is an optimization package, which based on the values of a number of data items that describe the current performance of a process calculates new values for a number of setpoints in order to optimize the performance.
Yet another example is a production planning function, which uses information about the current production order backlog and values of data items that describe the current availability of certain processing or manufacturing equipment, to determine an optimal production schedule. Yet another example is a production report package, which uses certain data items to calculate and report the amount of products that has been produced.
For their functionality these applications and others require access to information such as real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data from controllers and devices, and also from other software applications. However, today's control systems are heterogeneous systems, where components of different types and from different vendors, such as process controllers, programmable logic controllers (PLC), intelligent field devices, communication links, and software applications, are combined in an integrated system.
Traditionally, this has required that software applications requiring data in a control system needed to have special and different adaptations to access different sources for real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data. This is illustrated in a simplified diagram in
OPC (OLE for Process Control, where OLE means Object Linking and Embedding) is a specification that is aimed at eliminating some of these problems, by requiring all data sources to show the same type of interfaces. OPC is a well-known specification, published by the OPC Foundation. It is based on Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM).
OPC also allows a client application to access several data items with one single request as long as all data items are accessible through the same OPC server.
Although OPC relieves a client application from the need to use specific adaptations for different data sources, it still requires the client application to know which specific OPC server provides access to which data item, so that it can direct its access request to the right OPC server. For the same reason the client application can not access several data items with one single request when the data items are accessible through different OPC servers. This has the drawback that it adds complexity to the client application, which needs to keep track of which OPC server to use for each individual data item, and to generate separate access requests for access to data items that originate in different types of data sources. Another drawback is that when a new OPC server is installed in the system to provide access to a new type of data source, the client application needs to be changed to be able to use also that OPC server.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,318 entitled Device for communicating real time data between a programmable logic controller and a program operating in a central controller discloses a computer connected to a network of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) which could be used to perform monitoring and control functions in a context of manufacturing. The description discloses an add-in computer program operable through a general purpose spreadsheet program in a personal computer which can move real-time status and control messages directly between cells in the spreadsheet displayed on the PC and memory parts of programmable logic controllers (PLCs). This aims at facilitating a user's real-time monitoring and control of manufacturing performed at machine tools or in processing stations by means of a program that could run on a personal computer, a PC.
However, the functionality is described for a traditional network of PLCs connected via coaxial cable. The functionality describes an ability to communicate between a PLC and the PC which is limited to:
WO 99/46651 entitled Process control with ActiveX, discloses a software development toolkit for a user to create one or more real-time interactive control and communication software objects, for use in connection with a computer and a machine. Disclosed is the use of a type of software object developed by Microsoft Corporation called ActiveX components. WO 99/46651 discloses that prefabricated software objects of the ActiveX type may be provided by means of the described toolkit. These ActiveX software objects are also described as using OPC as a communication means between a software representation of an object for control and a control signal in a processing machine. However the key association and configuration functions of the software object described are created in advance of use, that is, before run-time. Furthermore, the software object described is limited as regards for example updates and future use or changes in use because the software object created by the toolkit is directly linked to a connection tag for an individual specified control signal.
WO00102953 entitled “Method of integrating an application in a computerized system” discloses a method for integration of many and various types of applications in a computerized system. This method is based on a concept where real world objects are represented as “composite objects”. Different facets of a real world object, such as its physical location, the current stage in a process, a control function, an operator interaction, a simulation model, some documentation about the object, etc., are each described as different aspects of the composite object. A composite object is a container for one or more such aspects. Thus, a composite object is not an object in the traditional meaning of object-oriented systems, but rather a container of references to such traditional objects, which implement the different aspects. Each aspect or group of aspects may be implemented by an independent software application, which provides its functionality through a set of interfaces that are accessible through the composite object. Another software application can thus query a composite object for a function associated with one of its aspects, and as a result obtain through the composite object a reference to the interface that implements the function.
Web Services is an example of a technology that enables remote access to (software) objects by use of Internet technology. WO 0077653A1, entitled Method and apparatus for providing network services, discloses a method and apparatus for providing network services for businesses. The description discloses a method to use HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and requests GET and POST to provide input data for a web service. The use and development of Web Services using cross-platform technologies such as XML (Extensible Markup Language), HTTP and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is described in the article “Web Services: Building Reusable Web Components with SOAP and ASP.NET”, published by Microsoft Press in the February 2001 Issue of MSDN Magazine. The article is also published on the Internet at the Microsoft msdnmag web site.
The aim of the present invention is to solve one or more of the above problems. The present invention provides means for client applications to access data such as real time, historical, and event and alarm data, without the need for the client applications to know which access server to use for each data item, and to do so uniformly and transparently. A further aim of the invention is to provide a means to allow client applications to access several data items by means of one single request even when the data items are accessible through different OPC servers.
These and other aims are realised by a method, a system, and a computer program product.
The main advantage of the present invention is that software applications, and in particular client applications, can access data items such as real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data, without need for the additional complexity of each client application to know which access server to use for each individual data item. This in turn greatly simplifies the:
Another advantage of the invention is that client applications are relieved form the additional complexity that is required to handle situations where each access server exists in multiple instances. This may be the case when there are very large numbers of data items in a system and multiple access servers are required to share the load, or when, for example, access servers are duplicated for improved availability (redundancy).
In large and complex control systems used for supervision and control of industrial equipment and processes there are typically thousands or even hundreds of thousands of individual data items, and many different client applications that need to access them. The reduced complexity of these client applications that is made possible by the invention represents a great technical advantage with significant reductions in the cost of providing sophisticated control systems.
An advantageous development of the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a proxy means, described as a Connector, which makes it possible to use means for the communication between client applications and access servers that are optimal for different situations. This includes the use of web technologies, such as web services and SOAP, which allow a more extensive degree of geographical distribution of client applications to be implemented economically, using low cost and readily available technology.
A more complete understanding of the method and system of the present invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:
A method for providing means for access to real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data from different sources to client applications in a computerized system for control in a uniform and location transparent way according to the present invention, involves the use of software objects that represent various entities that have a defined functional meaning in the system. An example of such an entity is a flow control loop, another example is a temperature measurement, and a third example is a start-up sequence. In this description, software objects that represent such entities are called entity objects.
Other terms used in this description include that software applications that require access to data as described above are referred to as client applications, and a mechanism that provides the means for such access is called an access server. Items of real-time data, historical data, or alarm and event data, are referred to as data items.
Associated with each Entity Object 10 are different data items, which hold information about the entity that the entity object represents. The Entity Object holds a reference to each associated data item, which reference includes information on how to access that data item. The data items are located in one or more data sources such as the PLC 5A, Process Controller 5B or Software Application 5C represented in
Each data item that is associated with an entity object is given some form of unique identity within the control system. In a first embodiment of the invention, this identity is a string ‘object_name.data_item_name’, where object_name is a name that uniquely identifies an entity object, and data_item_name is a name that within the scope of this object uniquely identifies a data item. For example, the description of the flow control loop
Different data items that are associated with the same or different entity objects are accessible through different access servers, either because:
In all these cases, the method described here allows the client application to use one uniform way to access all data items, relieving it from having to deal with what different types of access servers are involved, and how each access server is partitioned or duplicated.
Each Entity Object 10 holds information, in the form of the reference described above, about which access server to use for each data item that is associated with it. For a specific data source this reference may for example be provided to the relevant entity objects by the configuration tool that is used to configure the data source, or through means provided by the relevant access servers, such as the browsing mechanism provided by OPC servers, or from any other source.
According to the present invention, a client application's access to data items is managed by a software component called Access Service Handler 2. This component is preferably made available to the client application 1 in some form of component library, for example a DLL (Dynamic Link Library) or a shared library. It presents one uniform set of interfaces to the client application. Preferably, these interfaces comply with some well-known standard, such as OPC or SQL (Structured Query language). Through these interfaces the client application can access data items by referring to the data items' unique identifiers. The Access Service Handler generates access requests to the different underlying access servers, using information retrieved from the relevant entity objects to establish which access server to use for each data item.
Referring to
The client application 1 with the Access Service Handler 2, the entity objects 10, and all access servers 3, may run in the same computer, or in different computers connected through a network.
In its definition, OPC specifies that a remote client application communicate with an OPC server through DCOM (Distributed COM). In a development of the preferred embodiment of the invention, this communication is managed via a software component that functions as a kind of a proxy. This software proxy is called a Connector 6, which runs in the same computer as each respective OPC server, and interacts locally with the OPC server through COM.
See
This may be compared with the prior art as shown in
For data items where a software application is the source, the aspect that provides information about those data items would preferably be implemented by that software application itself. An example of this is illustrated in
The preferred embodiment shown in
In carrying out the method of the invention different forms of communication, including wireless communication may be used. One or more of the communications may consist in part of a data communication signal. The data communication signal in part of a data transmission between a client application (1) and a computerised control system normally comprises an identifying part that identifies a given Object (10, 10′) representing an entity controlled by said computerised control system and an data part dependent on a data item associated with said given Object. The data signal may be formatted according to a known format such as a format derived from SGML (Standard Generalised Markup Language) such as one compatible to an XML standard or WML or to a protocol such as WAP.
It is also noted that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. As an example, instead of OPC, some other well-known interface for access to real-time data, historical data, and alarm and event data, or any subset thereof, may be used.
A computer program product comprising the Access Service Handler and Connector software components and access servers according to the invention may be stored at least in part on different mediums that are computer readable. Archive copies may be stored on standard magnetic disks, hard drives, CD or DVD disks, or magnetic tape. The different parts of this computer program product may, for example at different times, be stored in any of; a volatile Random Access memory (RAM) of a computer or processor, a hard drive, an optical or magneto-optical drive, or in a type of non-volatile memory such as a ROM, PROM, or EPROM device. The computer program product may also be arranged in part as a distributed application capable of running on several different computers or computer systems at more or less the same time.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0103345 | Oct 2001 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/SE02/01699 | 9/18/2002 | WO | 00 | 10/4/2004 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO03/032233 | 4/17/2003 | WO | A |
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