Field of Invention

This invention relates to the field of Electronics and communication Engineering which makes use of cloud based storage applications.

Background of Invention

The present invention generally relates to a system or a method which can remotely monitor parameters and enable operational constraints for a process or unit or group of units which consume or generate energy, and more particularly to a system for monitoring, reporting of electrical, mechanical and environmental parameters through cloud based application where user can remotely acquire the data at regular intervals of time either through accessing or by just one time setup in the cloud based system or method which can automatically take care of sending reports based on constraints or threshold or timeline set by the user or group of users in single or multiple units. The information from the source is first acquired by system from single or multiple units in a complex network of interconnected device and then transferred to cloud based application using mobile (cellular) or wide area network (WAN) or radio frequency network. This invention has a sequence of methods in combination with system by which the signals or parameters are acquired from source using known art of communication protocol and then incoming signals are locally packaged and processed before sending the same to cloud based application which is connected to server which acquire, process and performs analytics of the information which results in generation of plant process insight, to an extent control of source based on configured threshold limits, generate collection of parameters in terms of reports, predict the future functioning of the connected devices or equipment's in the source from where the signals or information are generated/obtained. Prior Art

As is known, there are a variety of systems for monitoring and controlling manufacturing processes, inventory systems, emergency control systems, and the like. A number of control systems utilize local computers to process system inputs, model system responses, and control actuators to implement process corrections within the system. Machine to computer

communication using protocol such as Wi-Fi, BLE, RS232, MODBUS RTU, MODBUS TCP or PROFIBUS, Signal/data transfer through wireless router or using Cellular or LoRA or Sigfox link, cloud based application for various arts such as email, data storage etc., cloud based processing of data such as stock market, e-comers etc., are available in current date. All these individually cater to its own targeted domain of its application whereas our method and system caters to data or signal acquisition in a standard method and processing the information in cloud based application and provide report and analytics for user to understand the process and its multitude of things due to which the process of a plant industry gets impacted. Even tough current set of existing monitoring application covers marginally but those are localized software/application which is invariably not sufficient and has huge overhead in terms of reliability and maintenance, thus increasing the cost significantly and has known imitations where device from different manufacturer follow different standards which is incompatible across products or need additional overheads to make it compatible to existing system.

Summary

To achieve the advantages and novel features, the present invention is generally directed to a cost-effective method of monitoring and in future controlling remote devices/equipment's through cloud based application / techniques where each source device directly communicates to the cloud based application using standard technique/Internet Of Things. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a cloud based application for process monitoring, reporting, and can also in future controlling remote source and source behavioral patterns/information by transmitting processed information signals to a gateway interface. Because the applications server is integrated on a WAN, Web browsers or mobile app can be used by anyone with Internet access (and the appropriate access permissions) to view and download the recorded data where the processed information in cloud is secured and can be viewed by user any time anywhere, securely. No overhead of addition computer with specific configuration, software and its maintenance. Thus, considerably reducing the inventory cost and promoting the shared utilization of the resource based on usage. Because the applications run on a cloud based server, the processing is highly scalable and completely reduce the data tampering since human intervention in this novel method detailed is almost does not exist.

Certain objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Brief Description of Drawings

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings are,

Figure 1 is the flow-chart which explains the method which is incorporated to achieve the intent of this invention.

Figure 2 is the block diagram where detailed blocks of the present invention are as a system. Brief Description of drawings

Mentioned below is a detailed description and explanation of the flowchart 1 which gives a technical insight of the working of the present invention as per the first embodiment as a method.

Stepl : In this method, the signals are sampled through one common entry from external devices which can be from different source and which has the capability to transmit and receive signals of standard communication protocol like MODBUS or PROFIBUS or ZigBee or Bluetooth-Low- Energy (BLE)etc,

Step2: The sampled signals are then processed through [ 102] module as shown in block diagram Figure 2 and converted to serial communication protocol using [103] processing module where there is continuous streaming of signals into the block and out from the block.

Step3: From Stepl , the signals are sampled from multiple sources and in this step the collection of data for further processing happens based on each source device using Finite-State-machine technique linked to each source, upon completion of entire set of source the sampling algorithm loops back to staring point of the source. This method is monitored and controlled using [ 104] module from Figure 2, where the processed information from this module is sent to Error analysis block which is represented in [ 105] in Figure 2.

Step4: The sampled signals are then processed based on the source of the signal and the contents of the signal, in this step predefined standard factors/parameters and actual incoming signal parameters are calculated/correlated and then submitted to [104] from Figure 2 based on equipment weightage computation thus the signals are processed and data compression happens based on predefined criteria's which are set and then sent to step5 for validation of the processed data signals.

StepS: The method is used for validation of the content which happens concurrently for the processed data signals and if the contents are val id then stored in storage module [106] from Figure 2 or else in case of any error in fetching the signal then is tagged and appropriate flag added which is related to invalid content will be sent to data encryption block which is detailed in Step8, the system will directly communicate to server after passing through the encryption block.

Step6: After Step4 and StepS, in the next method, data which are authentic and not redundant that are filtered/compressed and prioritized based on equipment weightage computation will be stored to be sent to server for cloud application to process the same, after passing through the encryption block.

Step7: This method will send and receive data to buffer based on First-in-First-Out concept where in case of any WAN/Radio frequency network/internet link being not established or any circumstance where the data cannot reach the cloud, those data will be sent to data buffer units, from where eventually it will be sent to server upon reconnection of internet. System diagnostics block [1 15] Figure 2 will constantly monitor and provide input for this block to enabled buffering.

StepS: This method is modelled in such a way that all data which is sent to server will be passed though encryption block [ 108] in Figure 2 with special unique keys pertaining to a system. There can be many number of such systems which can communicate to server and each are uniquely identified based on the unique keys. Server has the capability to unlock signal data pertaining to each device based on the unique keys.

Step9: In the cloud based application, the method implemented first decrypts the data using the special unique keys, for further cloud based processing and publishing of data. The affiliated data such as location, critical ity, flags, tagging (representation of huge chunk of data or its associated parameters in simpler format) with alphanumeric characters, event date and it's time along with associated constraints, parameters are represented and decrypted, associated based on each source or node from where those signals were sampled.

Step 10: This method performs analytics, once the data deciphered as per the granularity mentioned in step9 then the application starts performing the analytics as per the user configuration for this specific system. The cloud based application follows a series of mathematical calculation and operations, thus collectively represented as a method by which analytics reports are generated. This method is represented in [1 10b] and [ 1 10c] in Figure 2. Step l 1 : The method uses a structure and plotting of data in cloud where the results of analytics reported in real-time or on demand with the provision to store the reports in cloud server and will be viewed based on user search and settings criteria. This method is termed as "Label based access" [1 14b] where different hierarchy of user is maintained across each plat based process model and will be controlled by admin project setting [ 1 14] based on plant organization structure and need.

Step 12: By this method the accessing of the reports by the user in [1 14b] needs login and password which should be combination of the secret keys unique for this system, thus this combination of secret keys in this method prevents data from different users and device getting merged avoiding any redundancy.

Stepl 3: This method uses internet connection to download the reports for the user where each administrated User can see the reports in Local system which just has browser which is known art and internet connection (which is known art) to access the data and reports in a customized format as per the user settings which is controlled by admin project setting method.

Step 14: By combination of above said methods, if an authentic user wishes to view the reports in other front end then the reports can also be visualized using mobile application and can be seen in mobile/tab - portable PC where the application directly communicates to the server with the predefined settings specific for the user based on IMIE or mobile number based enabling and authentication or even MAC ID based authentication.

Step l S: This method details on how the reports are organized and represented to user in combination or independently catering to user setting when visualized though the cloud based application in their hand-held or computer or digital media after meeting the authentication. The reports can be visualized based on user and his hierarchy in his organization, geography of user and his associated plant geo-location, based on source signal, its time and date combinations, based on Single Line Diagram (SLD) of the process, based on criticality of the source from where signal are sampled, based on annunciations (severity flags) , graphical representation of equipment's, through short message service, through email which are sent automatically, virtual reality based process where visualizing reporting happens based on virtual reality, image based reporting where static and dynamic GIF/Animated graphical image based reporting and visualization - any or all of the listed combinations.

Mentioned below is a detailed description and explanation of the block diagram with detailed explanation about eacb and every single block/ unit which performs the current invention

The signal is first acquired by system from external single or multiple source units in a complex network of interconnected device and then transferred to cloud based application using wide area network (WAN) or cellular or Radio frequency network. This invention has a sequence of methods in combination with system operation by which the signals or parameters are acquired from source using known art of communication protocol and then incoming signals are locally packaged and processed before sending the same to cloud based application which is connected to server which acquire, process and performs analytics on the information.

In accordance with the second broad aspect of the invention, a system is provided having one or more source [ 101 ] which supports standard communication protocols like MODBUS RTU or MODBUS TCP or PROFIBUS or ZigBee or Bluetooth-Low-Energy (BLE), where signals are acquired from multiple source [101 ] through serial communication controller block [ 102] which decipher signals using standards such as 232/485/422 in sequence as detailed in block diagram (figure 2) where the sequence of process involved are explained below.

1 . Serial Communication controller block:

1 .1 . This method uses the block [ 102] which gets its input from [ 101 ] external interface after establishing connection through different layers, Block [102] acquired signals and control the quantum of signal to be transmitted to processing [ 103] module.

2. Processing module:

2.1. The signal acquired from block [ 102] is then processed based on time where the

processing of valid acquired signal from [ 102] is done in this block. The incoming signals are further processed by [1 16] using Equipment weightage computation module. This method incorporates predefined standard factors/parameters and actual incoming signal parameters are calculated and then submitted to [ 1 4],e-State Machine module:

This block [ 104] utilize the finite-state machine (FSM) module to enable the processing module [ 103] and the serial communication module [102] in its sequence of operation where each state in this state machine connects to [101 ] via [103] and [102] using protocol layers.

r analysis module:

In this module after, receiving the sequence of signal from [104] module the [105] does error analysis and segregates those errored/anomalies signals which are tagged/flagged with an error reason-code and transferred through [ 108], [ 109] to [1 10] for user analysis to take necessary steps and gets published in [1 10A, 1 10B and I I OC] cloud platform block without going into [106] thus effectively managing space and time.

ge Module:

Storage performed based on first-in-first-out method, where only authentic and reliable signals/data are stored and transmitted to [108], In any case of disconnection in the process involved in post-storage method mentioned in figure 2 the outcome of sequence of operation are buffered in [107] by this module.

Upon establishing the connection in the process between [109], [1 10] and also between [ 101 ], [ 102] then buffered processed signal/data in [ 107] are sent to [1 10] through [ 108] and [109]

This module also has clean-up criteria where once the buffered data AND/or/O the storage data/signals are sent to [1 10] via [ 108] and [ 109] then the old or buffered stored values are emptied providing space to new processed signals/data's to be saved for transfer. While [ 1 15] keeps track of status and logs the status for

device/process/equipment diagnostics for memory underflow, overflow. encryption:

This block uses standard prior art encryption algorithm to the data from [106] using following 6.1.1. Encryption can be done using standard technique such as salting or hashing technique.

6.1.2. Or applying linear- feedback shift register (LFS ) technique.

6.1.3. Or applying Differential signaling encoding technique.

6. 1.4. Or combination of any of the above listed.

Gateway/access point block - This is prior art general purpose internet/intranet gateway System Diagnostics: Performs following block to block functional check and thus acts as Task manager/monitor which will record the heartbeat and logs of system functioning.

8.1 . [ 106] and [ 107] buffer and Storage module overflow check,

8.2. [101 ] to [102] and [102] to [101 ] along with [ 104], [ 105] device connection check.

8.3. [ 109] to [ 1 10] communication synchronization check, internet, or server connection check.

Plant Model based analytics:

9.1. Customizable method by which plant process parameter are correlated to each other through a mathematical relationship in [ 1 16] and [ 1 17] which runs on method of multithreading parallel processing.

9.2. By this method, device weightage which is connected to the plant process will be

computed based on device criticality in the plant process along with frequency of device fault, crossing threshold values and its occurrence along with device data with time stamp.

9.3. The result of this module will be influencing the [1 10B] cloud analytics and thus

subsequently processing of data for user interface [ I I OC]

Cloud platform /Internet Server:

10.1 . Cloud based data acquisition decryption: In this module, first the signal/data is decrypted in [ 1 10A] using digital "keys" which is unique for e ^' ach

user/process/entity/module using standard prior art of decryption which complements the [ 106] block.

10.2. Cloud based data analytics: This module is the combination of [1 16], [ 1 1 7]

methods along with incorporation of standard calculation and explicitly

flagging/marking the anomalies and thresholds which will be impacting the results of [ H OC] 10.3. Cloud based processing the data for user interface: This module shall consolidate the sequence of operation starting from [101 ] to [1 10B] to user in a way that most relevant and meaningful where by this module the data/signals and its occurrence captured in real-time and or buffered based on timestamp, process, sub-process, capacity, storage [ 107] [ 103] threshold, sub and super set of the process [105] for the single/multiple entity/process/module[101 ] in more secured way [108] to the cloud platform [ 1 10] covering report generation/display, graph plotting, summary, and analytics where in this method predicts the future trend of data signals and patterns which might be used for predictive and preventive scope of entity/system/module/device characteristics which will be transmitted to user as downloadable report and image files.

This module also enables user to gain access to reports without accessing the cloud platform (as log-in) based on predefined user configuration and report.

10.3.1 . Plant location based analytics: This [1 I OC] Will be intuitive to user covering all or any one or combination of the following display options to user.

10.3.1.1 . GPS based display

10.3.1.2. Plat layout based display.

10.3.1 .3. Process based display

10.3.1 .4. Single Line Diagram based display

10.3.1.5. Virtual reality based visualizing reporting or display

10.3.1.6. Image based reporting where static and dynamic GIF/Animated graphical image based reporting or display. Admin Project setting block:

1 1.1 . This block controls and monitor user and access and overall cloud performance and process [102] to [109] connected to [ 1 10]

1 1 .2. Provided access and setting which are customized for each process based user and sub-users.

Label based access block: The signal/data processed [1 I OC] finally reach user where they can access the data from cloud in standard available devices such as below 1 ) Computer (desk top and Laptop)

2) Mobile device (hand held)

3) Tablet PC or LCD display connected to cloud or local system with internet

connection/intranet.

or even doing one time configuration in the cloud based solution such that an automatic email shall be triggered to the subscribed e-mail ID with reports in multiple formats such as electronic document, image file, plain text.

1 .1 . The reports are shared based on the user Label - say for level 1 , level2, level3 etc., level"n" where data visualization and control restrictions are applicable for users in down the hierarchy.

This invention relates to combinations of sequence of methods which are used in process industry, enterprise, community, or system which encompasses several blocks in the system such as serial communication, Finite-State-Machine technique, Fuzzy logic based processing technique, error analysis block, Storage block, encryption/decryption technique, cloud based operations and computations etc.,

The terms module and units have been used throughout this invention to describe various features of the system and are enabled and implemented by hardware / firmware.

The embodiment or embodiments discussed were chosen and described illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly and legally entitled.