US 11,796,975 B2
Network centric process control
Staffan Andersson, Lund (SE); and Hans Thilderkvist, Malmö (SE)
Assigned to ABB Schweiz AG, Baden (CH)
Filed by ABB Schweiz AG, Baden (CH)
Filed on Feb. 19, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/795,208.
Claims priority of application No. 19160285 (EP), filed on Mar. 1, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0278649 A1, Sep. 3, 2020
Int. Cl. H04L 61/00 (2022.01); G05B 19/042 (2006.01); H04L 61/5069 (2022.01)
CPC G05B 19/042 (2013.01) [H04L 61/5069 (2022.05); G05B 2219/25198 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for process control in a network centric process control system, the network centric process control system comprising a plurality of nodes, wherein each node includes one or more control service being a separate executable running in a separate operating system process provided by a real time operating system thereof, wherein the plurality of nodes have received configuration data from an engineering node of the network centric process control system, wherein the configuration data defines a communication interface for exchanging process data between the plurality of nodes, the method comprising the steps:
publishing, by one or more of the plurality of nodes, process data information in the network centric process control system via a middleware service of said one or more of the plurality of nodes, wherein the publishing is made by one control service of said one or more of the plurality of nodes, wherein the process data information includes process data, a data type for the process data, and an identity unique in the network centric process control system, wherein the middleware service is a separate executable running in a separate operating system process provided by a real time operating system thereof, wherein a middleware service interface provided by the middleware service is configured to group publishing process data information in data sets, wherein each data set comprises signals and is assigned a multicast address; and
subscribing, by the one or more of the plurality of nodes, to the process data information published in the network centric process control system via the middleware service, wherein the subscribing is made by another control service of said one or more of the plurality of nodes.