Systems and methods for providing a virtual machine link to process controls

Inventors

HEINEN, Guilherme Frederico • NEVES DA SILVA, Luiz Guilherme • Yang, Junqiu

Assignees

Bayer AG • Monsanto Technology LLC

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for use in communicating with a distributed control system (DCS) associated with a manufacturing plant. One example system includes a virtual machine hosted in a computing device and coupled to the DCS via a network connection, where the virtual machine includes a controller server and a controller client. The controller server includes a controller specific to a process of the plant, and the controller client is configured to host communication between the controller server in the virtual machine and the DCS of the plant. The controller client, then, is further configured to receive a message from the DCS, via the network connection, transform the message into a JSON message, and communicate the JSON message to the controller server.

Core Innovation

The invention describes a system and method for controlling production of products at a manufacturing plant by linking a cloud-hosted virtual machine to a distributed control system (DCS). A controller client included in the virtual machine receives a message from the DCS associated with a process to produce a product, where the message is in a first message format specific to the DCS. The controller client transforms the DCS message from the first message format into a second message format different from the first message format.

The controller client communicates the message in the second message format to a controller server included in the virtual machine, and receives a response message from the controller server in the second message format. The response message includes an action to be implemented at the manufacturing plant, as determined by a controller specific to the process at the manufacturing plant, based on an operational state of the process. The controller client transforms the response message from the second message format to the first message format and communicates the response message including the action to the DCS.

In response to the response message in the first message format, the DCS adjusts a component of the manufacturing plant to alter the set-point of the process based on the action included in the response message. The described approach addresses communication and security barriers between disparate software products by converting controller/server and DCS communications between different message formats, including OPC and JSON, while also accounting for deployment constraints when the virtual machine and the DCS run on different operating systems.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim describes five principal inventive features: DCS-to-controller message format conversion, cloud virtual-machine controller server interaction, process-specific action determination from operational state, response conversion back to the DCS format, and set-point adjustment at the plant. Dependent claims further specify message formats using OPC and JSON and constrain the operating systems of the virtual machine and the DCS, with optional examples of process set-points and a product.

The patent covers a cloud virtual-machine controller client/server arrangement that converts DCS-specific first-format messages into a second message format for controller processing, returns a process-action response after determining an action based on operational state, and converts the response back so the DCS can adjust a process set-point. Dependent claims narrow the formats to OPC for the first format and JSON for the second format and require different operating systems for the virtual machine and the DCS, with optional examples for evaporator/steam set-point adjustment and glyphosate production.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found