US 12,078,977 B2
Discovery service in a software defined control system
Anthony Amaro, Jr., Cedar Park, TX (US); and Mark J. Nixon, Thorndale, TX (US)
Assigned to FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed by FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed on Sep. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/489,373.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/211,535, filed on Jun. 16, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0404788 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. G05B 19/042 (2006.01); G05B 19/10 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/0425 (2013.01) [G05B 19/106 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for inferring information regarding a physical asset of a process plant using a context dictionary, the method comprising:
obtaining, via a discovery service executing via a container on a compute node within a software defined process control system (SDCS), an announcement indicative of a presence of a physical asset of the process plant utilized during run-time of the process plant to control at least a portion of the industrial process, the announcement including an identifier of the physical asset;
obtaining, via the discovery service from a context dictionary, at least one of: (i) one or more additional parameters retrievable from the physical asset that were not indicated in the announcement, or (ii) one or more services associated with the physical asset that were not indicated in the announcement; and
storing, in a discovered item data store, a record of the discovered physical asset, the record including an indication of the identity of the physical asset, and the one or more additional parameters or one or more services associated with the physical asset that were not indicated in the announcement;
providing the record of the discovered physical asset to another service for automatically commissioning the discovered physical asset; and
controlling the commissioned physical asset to manufacture, refine, transform, generate, or produce a physical material or product in the process plant.