AUTOMATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates generally to the field of automation and more specifically to industrial automation useful for navigation of one or more entities in the industrial automation module that have been physically visited by a user.

PRIOR ART AND PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED

[0002] In the Industrial Automation world, no plant is fully automatic. In other words, a so called full automatic plant is only 70 - 80 % automated for various reasons. Considering that, it is a very normal situation for an operator, process engineer or instrumentation engineer (generally referred as a "user") to work both in the control room where the automation module is located as well as in the field.

[0003] Some examples of users of an automation module visiting the field or process area or a site are as below:

— An operator has to open a bypass valve which is not automated

— A process engineer might need to take a sample of the batch from the reactor

— An instrumentation engineer wants to take a periodic manual reading of a tank level for ensuring the correctness and accuracy of the level sensor

[0004] Once the user performs these tasks in the field, he needs to update the automation system in the control room about the information of the task or the observation from the plant area visited. For this purpose, in the current scenario, the user comes into the control room where the automation module is located and then searches for the graphic display / faceplate corresponding to that of the process area / device that has been attended in the field and opens or accesses it. Below are examples of tasks the user might want to perform in the automation module, in sequence to the above three activities in the field:

— Perform additional activities like starting a pump in the process area that has been line-up manually — Record a few process parameters to tag the collected sample

— Compare the manual reading of tank level to that of the indication in the control system and calibrate it if needed.

[0005] In a typical automation module of a control system there will be about 50-100 graphic displays. The user therefore needs to navigate through a few displays before he reaches the graphic display correspond to the last activity performed in the field. Alternatively the user may note down the tag number of the device and use a find tool to call-up the faceplate of the device. The user thus needs to manually navigate or search to the graphic / display faceplate that corresponds to the process area / device which has been visited in field. This is more or less the case with all the automation systems in the market today.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0006] As mentioned herein above, every time there is a field visit for any special task or a routine plant or machinery check-up, there needs to be a corresponding update in the corresponding entities (representation of plant area or device in the automation module) in the automation module so that the automation module reflects the correct information. The present systems take time for finding the visited area or device in the automation module and update the required information or perform further tasks. Additionally, there is a scope of error in the search, as there may be similar plant areas and devices, and selecting the one that was visited requires a lot of attention by the user. A wrong selection of the entity can result in safety hazards or productivity issues.

[0007] Thus the principal object of the invention is for an improved method and system to more efficiently navigate the entities in the automation module by a user who needs to update specific entities based on a site area or a device visited and acted upon. Such a method and system will reduce the probability of errors caused by accidental working on a wrong device or a mirror process area. It improves the safety by ensuring that the user is working on the correct entity in the automation module.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A system for contactless wireless communication for navigation of entities in an automation module is disclosed. The system comprises a passive programmed tag for identifying a plant area visited and a device operated upon by an operator. The system also includes a contactless reader-writer for being tagged by the passive programmed tag to track the plant area visited or the device operated upon by the operator. The system includes a transferring component for transferring the tagged input to the automation module and a processing component for identifying a matching entity in the automation module that matches the tagged input as a matched entity. The system further includes a display component for displaying the matched entity and an input interface for updating the matched entity.

[0009] A corresponding method for contactless wireless communication for navigation of entities in an automation module is also provided that includes tagging the plant area visited and the device operated upon by the operator on the contactless reader-writer as a tagged input; transferring the tagged input to the automation module; identifying a matching entity in the automation module that matches the tagged input as a matched entity; displaying the matched entity; and updating the matched entity.

DRAWINGS

[0010] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent corresponding parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation for a system for contactless wireless communication for navigation of entities in an automation module;

[0012] FIG. 2 is diagrammatic representation of a plant area layout with the passive programmed tags for the plant areas and for the devices;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a flowchart representation of exemplary steps for using the system of FIG. 1 & 2;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary system that uses a card emulation device; [0015] FIG. 5 is a flowchart representation of exemplary steps for using the system of FIG. 4; and

[0016] FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of exemplary method of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] As used herein and in the claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural reference unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0018] The term "operator" and "user" are used interchangeably and refer to any person or persons using the system and method of the invention to interact with the automation module.

[0019] The invention provides a mechanism by which operators can open the automation module entities such as graphics displays, faceplates and other plant information automatically in an automation system, corresponding to the one they have physically visited recently in the plant area. It serves as a connection between the physical world and the digital world because it allows plant physical devices and areas to be identified within the automation module. The invention thus effectively captures flow of user activities between the field and the automation module of a control system. This increases ease of use and navigation capabilities within an automation module. This enables an effective and efficient feedback mechanism to the control system of the task performed by the user which is otherwise a totally disjoint manual task.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation for a system 10 for contactless wireless communication for navigation of entities in an automation module 12. The system includes a passive programmed tag 14 for identifying a plant area visited and a device operated upon by a user. A user uses a contactless reader- writer 16 to tap (or slide or swipe or any such movement that allows recording of the programmed tag in the contactless reader-writer) at the passive programmed tag to track the plant area visited or the device operated upon by the operator. It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that contactless communication protocol is used between the passive programmed tags and the contactless reader-writer using RFID (radio frequency identification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Exemplary contents for tagging would be the Graphic Display / Faceplate URL for the plant areas and the devices. [0021] A transferring component 18 is used for transferring the tagged input 20 to the automation module 12 of a control system (not shown). It may be noted here that the transferring component may be integrated in the contactless reader- writer 16 or be a separate wireless device. An API (Application Program Interface) is used in the exemplary implementation for transferring the tagged input content to the automation module.

[0022] The system 10 further includes a processing component 22 for identifying a matching entity in the automation module 12 that matches the tagged input as a matched entity. A display component 24 is provided for displaying the matched entity, and an input interface 26 is provided for updating the matched entity by the user. The matched entity is at least one of a graphic display corresponding to the plant area or a faceplate corresponding to the device.

[0023] As mentioned herein above the update may correspond to inputting information related to a task performed by the user on the actual plant area or the device, or it may include observations or commands for updating certain parameters or initiating or revising automated control tasks based on the plant or device visited. It may be noted here that the processing component 22, the display component 24 and the input interface 26 are subcomponents of the automation module in the exemplary embodiment.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a plant area layout 30 with the passive programmed tags for the plant areas donated generally by reference numeral 32 and passive programmed tags for the devices donated generally by reference numeral 34.

[0025] In one exemplary non-limiting embodiment, the contactless reader-writer includes the transferring component as mentioned herein above and is configured to send a communication message or an instruction trigger through a messaging interface that transfers the tagged input directly into the automation module. An exemplary flow of steps for such a system and method is shown in the exemplary flowchart 36 in FIG. 3.

[0026] In an alternate non-limiting embodiment a card emulation device is used as a transferring component that reads the tagged input from the contactless reader-writer and transfers the tagged input to the automation module. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation 40 of a plant area 30 of FIG. 2 and a control room 42 with an automation module 12 incorporated in the computer system 44, and a card emulation device 46 to read the contents from the contact-less reader-writer and transfer the contents wirelessly to the automation module. FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of flow of steps depicted in the flowchart 50 that uses the system described in FIG. 4.

[0027] In yet another non-limiting embodiment the transferring component is a programmed keyboard (not shown) that includes different predefined programmed shortcut keys for opening different entities such as Graphic Displays, Alarm Lists etc. in the automation module on receiving the transferred input from the contactless-reader-writer. For this, the passive chips with URL's can be laid out on the operator/user console and then the reader writer device that is attached to the Operator Station (computer system in FIG. 2) can be used to tap different passive chips to open different entities automatically in the system.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a flowchart representation 60 of the exemplary method steps for contactless wireless communication for navigation of entities in an automation module. The method comprises a step 62 for providing the passive programmed tag associated with a plant area or a device, a contactless reader-writer, and an automation module as described in the system of FIG. 1. The method further includes a step 64 for transferring the tagged input to the automation module. As explained herein above the transferring can be done via a message from the contact-less reader-writer to the automation module, or through a separate device (such as but not limited to a card emulation device or a pre-programmed keyboard) that takes the tagged input from the contactless reader-writer and transfers it to the automation module. Next, the method includes a step 66 for identifying a matching entity in the automation module that matches the tagged input as a matched entity. The matched entity is displayed at step 68 and at step 70, the matched entity is updated by the user using any input interface.

[0029] In summary, the system and method of the invention enable users such as plant operators and engineers to automatically open entities such as graphic display or a faceplate in the automation system, corresponding to the plant area or device visited in the field. Alternately, the system and method of the invention enable creation of an alternative for Operator Keyboard which has predefined shortcut keys for opening different entities that correspond to the plant area or device visited in the field. Thus the correct identification and navigation of entities that correspond to the visited plant area or device is enabled by the system and method of the invention. The probability of errors caused by accidental working /updating on device or the mirror plant area is reduced. [0030] It may be noted here that though the use case examples have been shown for an industrial automation environment, the method and system of the invention are applicable to many other environments today where there is a central control system that controls or monitors operations of remote facilities.

[0031] While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.