Engineering Data Gateway for Flexible Process Flow Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial process automation systems face challenges in providing access to engineering data across various control units and adapting process flows for search and processing requests during productive operations, especially with constant system adjustments and heterogeneous user groups accessing system data.
Innovation Solution
A control program and method that represents components of the industrial process automation system as computer-based objects within an engineering system, managed in a hierarchical structure, with a standard service interface accessible via a gateway, allowing client-specific service requests and decoupling of engineering and order databases for flexible adaptation of process sequences and states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standard service interface is provided via gateway for multiple client types, then accessibility of engineering data is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway as an intermediary component that sits between multiple client types and the engineering data storage system. The gateway provides a standardized service interface that translates diverse client requests into a unified communication protocol, enabling multiple clients to access engineering data without directly interacting with the complex database structure. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by improving accessibility through standardization while containing system complexity within the gateway layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional layers: client applications, gateway service interface, and engineering database. This segmentation allows each layer to be developed and maintained independently, reducing overall system complexity while improving accessibility. The gateway layer specifically handles client-specific protocols and translates them into standard database queries, enabling multiple client types to access engineering data without increasing database complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If engineering and order databases are decoupled, then adaptability of process flows is improved, but data consistency management becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent decouples the engineering database (storing master data about system components) from the order database (storing process sequences and states). This segmentation improves adaptability by allowing independent modification of process flows in the order database without affecting the stable engineering data. The gateway service interface maintains data consistency by implementing reference integrity constraints and coordinated update mechanisms between the two databases.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway service interface acts as a mediator between the decoupled engineering and order databases. It manages data consistency by implementing transaction coordination, reference validation, and synchronized update protocols. When process flows need to reference engineering data, the gateway ensures proper data retrieval and consistency without requiring direct coupling between the databases, thus maintaining both adaptability and reliability.
3Productivity
If multiple users can access engineering data simultaneously, then productivity is improved, but risk of direct modification of productive system data increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts project planning and engineering data modification functions into a separate engineering database that is distinct from the productive system data. Multiple users can simultaneously access and modify engineering data in this isolated environment without risking the integrity of productive system data. The gateway service interface controls access permissions, allowing concurrent engineering work while protecting operational data through architectural separation and permission-based access control.
Data Source
AI summary
An engineering system for an industrial process automation system, wherein components of the industrial process automation system are each represented by a computer-based object within the engineering system and are continuously stored in an engineering database, where functions of the engineering system are made available as services via a standard service interface, process sequences and states for retrieving or processing objects stored in the engineering database are stored in an order database that is separate from the engineering database, and access to process sequences and states that are stored in the order database occurs via an order interface that is separate from the standard service interface.