INTEGRATED NAVIGATIONAL TREE IMPORTATION AND GENERATION IN A PROCESS PLANT
(19)AUSTRALIAN PATENT OFFICE (54) Title INTEGRA I bD NAVIGATIONAL TREE IMPORTATION AND GENERATION IN A PROCESS PLANT (51)6 International Patent Classification(s) G05B 023/02 G05B 019/418 (21) Application No: 2003268551 (22) Application Date: 2003.09.09 (87) WIPONo: WO04/0G1540 (30) Priority Data (31) Number (32) Date 10/331,974 2002.12.30 (33) Country US (43) Publication Date : 2004.07.29 (43) Publication Journal Date : 2004.09.02 (71) Applicant(s) FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC. (72) Inventor(s) HARRIS, Stuart; DILLON, Steven; ROME, Greg; WESTBROCK, Jon; KAVAKLIOGLU,Kadir; ERYUREK, Evren; HOKENESS,Scott, N. (H) Application NoAU2003268551 A1(19)AUSTRALIAN PATENT OFFICE (54) Title INTEGRA I bD NAVIGATIONAL TREE IMPORTATION AND GENERATION IN A PROCESS PLANT (51)6 International Patent Classification(s) G05B 023/02 G05B 019/418 (21) Application No: 2003268551 (22) Application Date: 2003.09.09 (87) WIPONo: WO04/0G1540 (30) Priority Data (31) Number (32) Date 10/331,974 2002.12.30 (33) Country US (43) Publication Date : 2004.07.29 (43) Publication Journal Date : 2004.09.02 (71) Applicant(s) FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC. (72) Inventor(s) HARRIS, Stuart; DILLON, Steven; ROME, Greg; WESTBROCK, Jon; KAVAKLIOGLU,Kadir; ERYUREK, Evren; HOKENESS,Scott, N. A process plant data collection and organization system uses a common or integrated navigational tree structure to organize and enable a user to view and access information obtained from different applications or data sources within a process plant, even when those different applications have different manners of organizing or enabling users thereof to view the collected information. The integrated navigational tree may be developed from and may use the navigational tree categories of the different applications or may map the data within different categories of the navigational trees of the different applications into categories within the integrated navigational tree. The integrated navigational tree enables a user to view and access plant data collected or developed by different applications within the process plant in a single place and in an organized manner so that the user can view data related to the plant from a higher point of view than provided by any of the individual applications. CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A data integration system for use in conjunction with a process plant having a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates application data pertaining to entities within the process plant, the data integration system comprising : a database adapted to store the application data pertaining to the entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications;STDC0826 an integration application stored on a computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor to create an integrated navigational tree for use in viewing or accessing the application data from the plurality of data source applications as stored in the database, the integrated navigational tree including categories for categorizing the application data from each of the plurality of data source applications and indications of the entities within the process plant associated with the categories; a navigational tree memory adapted to store the integrated navigational tree; a user interface application stored on the computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor to display the integrated navigational tree to enable a user to view or access the application data stored in the database.
2. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include plant categories defined by the S88 standard.
3. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the integration application includes a default navigational tree structure that specifies the categories for categorizing the application data and uses the default navigational tree structure to create the integrated navigational tree. <Desc/Clms Page number 29> 4. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include high-level categories defining each of the plurality of the data source applications and include sub-categories defined according to navigational trees associated with each of the plurality of data source applications.
5 The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include logical function categories defining logical functions of the process plant.
6. The data integration system of claim 5, wherein the logical function categories include one or more of a device maintenance function, a device monitoring function, a control function, and a plant efficiency function.
7. The data integration system of claim 5, wherein the logical function categories include one or more of power equipment, field instrumentation equipment, rotating equipment and efficiency equipment.
8. The data integration system of claim 5, wherein the logical function categories include one or more of process areas, units, equipment, and control modules. <Desc/Clms Page number 30> 9. The data integration system of claim 1, further including a mapping application stored on a computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor to display depictions of the categories of the integrated navigational tree, to display depictions of data items associated with a navigational tree of one of the data source applications and to enable a user to specify a connection between the data items associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and the categories of the integrated navigational tree.
10. The data integration system of claim 9, wherein the mapping application enables a user to specify a connection between a particular data item associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and a particular category of the integrated navigational tree by selecting the depiction of the particular data item within the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications, dragging the depiction of the selected particular data item to the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree and dropping the depiction of the selected particular data item on the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree.
11. The data integration system of claim 10, wherein the depictions of the data items associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications include depictions of categories of data associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications.
12. The data integration system of claim 10, wherein the depictions of the data items associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications include depictions of process entities associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications. <Desc/Clms Page number 31> 13. The data integration system of claim 1, further including a data collection application stored on a computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor to receive the application data from each of the plurality of data source applications.
14. The data integration system of claim 13, wherein the data collection application is a web viewing application.
15. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the integrated navigational tree includes a category for linking information adapted to store a link to information or to an application related to at least one of the entities within the process plant. <Desc/Clms Page number 32> 16. A web server system for use in conjunction with a process plant, comprising : a communication network ; a data integration server communicatively connected to the communication network; and a plurality of application servers communicatively connected to the data integration server via the communication network, each application server adapted to serve data from a data source application which collects or generates application data pertaining to entities within the process plant to the data integration server; the data integration server including ; a processor, a computer readable program memory, a first database adapted to receive and to store the application data pertaining to the entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications;STDC0649 an integration application stored on the computer readable program memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to create an integrated navigational tree for use in viewing or accessing the application data from the plurality of data source applications as stored in the first database, the integrated navigational tree including categories for categorizing the application data from each of the plurality of data source applications and indications of the entities within the process plant associated with the categories; and a navigational tree database adapted to store the integrated navigational tree. <Desc/Clms Page number 33> 17. The web server system of claim 16, further including a user interface application adapted display the integrated navigational tree to enable a user to view or access the application data stored in the first database.
18. The web server system of claim 17, wherein the user interface application is stored on the computer readable program memory and is adapted to be executed on the processor of the data integration server.
19. The web server system of claim 16, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include categories of a plant defined by the S88 standard.
20. The web server system of claim 16, wherein the integration application includes a default navigational tree structure that specifies the categories for categorizing the application data and uses the default navigational tree structure to create the integrated navigational tree.
21. The web server system of claim 16, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include high-level categories defining each of the plurality of the data source applications and include sub-categories defined according to navigational trees associated with each of the plurality of data source applications.
22. The web server system of claim 16, wherein the categories of the integrated navigational tree include logical function categories defining logical functions of the process plant. <Desc/Clms Page number 34> 23. The web server system of claim 22, wherein the logical function categories include one or more of a device maintenance function, a device monitoring function, a control function, and a plant efficiency function.
24. The web server system of claim 22, wherein the logical function categories include one or more of power equipment, field instrumentation equipment, rotating equipment and efficiency equipment.
25. The web server system of claim 16, further including a mapping application stored on the computer readable program memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to display depictions of the categories of the integrated navigational tree, to display depictions of data items associated with a navigational tree of one of the data source applications and to enable a user to specify a connection between the data items associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and the categories of the integrated navigational tree.
26. The web server system of claim 25, wherein the mapping application enables a user to specify a connection between a particular data item associated within the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and a particular category of the integrated navigational tree by selecting the depiction of the particular data item within the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications, dragging the depiction of the selected particular data item to the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree and dropping the depiction of the selected particular data item on the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree. <Desc/Clms Page number 35> 27. The web server system of claim 26, wherein the depictions of the data items associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications include depictions of categories of data associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications.
28. The web server system of claim 16, wherein the integrated navigational tree includes a category for linking information adapted to store a link to information or to an application related to at least one of the entities within the process plant.
29. A method of integrating application data pertaining to entities within a process plant collected or generated by a plurality of data source applications associated with the process plant, the method comprising : storing the application data pertaining to the entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications in a first database; creating an integrated navigational tree for use in viewing or accessing the application data from the plurality of data source applications as stored in the first database, the integrated navigational tree including categories for categorizing the application data from each of the plurality of data source applications and indications of the entities within the process plant associated with the categories; storing the integrated navigational tree in a memory;STDC0137 and displaying the integrated navigational tree to enable a user to view or access the application data stored in the first database.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of creating the integrated navigational tree includes creating categories of the integrated navigational tree defined by the S88 standard. <Desc/Clms Page number 36> 37. The method of claim 29, further including displaying depictions of the categories of the integrated navigational tree, displaying depictions of data items associated with a navigational tree of one of the data source applications and enabling a user to specify a connection between a particular data item associated with the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and a particular category of the integrated navigational tree.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of enabling a user to specify a connection between the particular data item associated within the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications and the particular category of the integrated navigational tree includes enabling a user to select the depiction of the particular data item within the navigational tree of the one of the data source applications, enabling the user to drag the depiction of the selected particular data item to the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree and enabling the user to drop the depiction of the selected particular data item on the depiction of the particular category of the integrated navigational tree.
39. The method of claim 29, further including the step of automatically sending the application data from each of the plurality of data source applications to the first database.
40. The method of claim 29, wherein creating the integrated navigational tree includes creating the integrated navigational tree to include a category for linking information that is adapted to store a link to information or to an application related to at least one of the entities within the process plant.
41. The method of claim 40, wherein the link is a universal resourse locator (URL).