A process control system for controlling a process including a plurality of sub-processes, the process control system including a plurality of control modules each associated with one of the plurality of sub-processes. At least one of the plurality of control modules includes a model, a communicator, and a controller. The model includes a sub-process model defining a relationship between variables of the associated sub-process, and an inter-sub-process model defining a relationship between a variable of another sub-process and at least one of the variables of the associated sub-process. The communicator communicates with control module associated with the another sub-process to determine an updated value for the variable of the another sub-process. The controller uses the model and the updated value to determine a control signal for adjusting a manipulated variable of the associated sub-process. The process control method is also provided that is performed by the process control system.

A distributed motor control system includes motor control devices that individually control motors that coordinately drive an industrial machine. Each of at least two motor control devices of the motor control devices includes processing circuitry that performs sharing processing including sharing coordinated control data, used in coordinated driving of the industrial machine between the at least two motor control devices, via data communication, and control a corresponding motor using the coordinated control data shared via the sharing-processing.

The invention relates to a method for the distributed calculation of calculation tasks by means of field devices of an industrial plant, wherein a plurality of field devices are coupled to a task distribution unit by means of a data link, the field devices effect a control of the industrial plant in an operating state in each case, at least one of the field devices receives a calculation task from the task distribution unit in an idle state and changes to a calculation state in which the calculation task is processed.

A distributed multi-node control system (100) and method, relating to the field of control technology. The distributed multi-node control system (100) comprises: a first control node (11), a second control node (12), a plurality of servo nodes (20) and a plurality of execution devices (30), the first control node (11) and the second control node (12) being respectively communicationally connected to the plurality of servo nodes (20), the servo nodes (20) being electrically connected to the execution devices (30) and configured to control operating states of the corresponding execution devices (30), the first control node (11) being configured to control an operating state of at least one first servo node (21) among the plurality of servo nodes (20), the second control node (12) being configured to control an operating state of at least one second servo node (22) among the plurality of servo nodes (20).

Methods and Systems are described for control at/of a network node. The network node can include a control module and first and second modules coupled to the control module. The first module can be configured to select first input/output (I/O) types of a field device coupled at an I/O interface of the network node. The second module can be configured to select a second I/O types of the field device. The first and second modules can be coupled to the I/O interface through a field device coupler.

A relay interface module that is commutatively connectable to at least one I/O device and a controller, wherein the relay interface module is configured to provide data from the I/O device to at least one controller in a distributed control system (DCS) via a communication interface. An application related to a particular I/O device may then be executed freely on any controller present in a DCS without losing real time connection with the associated I/O device. Data can be transferred from an I/O device to an associated application executed on a controller such that the real time connection between the I/O device and the application being executed is maintained.

A vibration data acquisition and analysis module is operable to be inserted directly into a distributed control system (DCS) I/O backplane, so that processed vibration parameters may be scanned directly by the DCS I/O controller. Because the process data and the vibration data are both being scanned by the same DCS I/O controller, there is no need to integrate numerical data, binary relay outputs, and analog overall vibration level outputs from a separate vibration monitoring system into the DCS. The system provides for: (1) directly acquiring vibration data by the DCS for machinery protection and predictive machinery health analysis; (2) direct integration of vibration information on DCS alarm screens; (3) acquisition and display of real time vibration data on operator screens; (4) using vibration data to detect abnormal situations associated with equipment failures; and (5) using vibration data directly in closed-loop control applications.

A control apparatus of the present invention is a control apparatus included in a distributed control system. The control apparatus includes a time synchronization unit configured to synchronize the control apparatus with another control apparatus included in the distributed control system in terms of time, a communication unit configured to receive information from the other control apparatus, an information holding unit configured to add synchronization time information to the information and hold the resulting information, an area setting unit configured to set an area of the information holding unit according to a time difference of the information, an information selection unit configured to select shared data from the information stored in the information holding unit, and a shared data storage unit configured to store the shared data selected by the information selection unit.

A system for preventing inadvertent or untimely parameter changes to an active online field device from a secondary system different from a distributed control system application providing control instructions to the field device, where the parameter changes may cause detrimental effects to a plant process or activity. A request for a parameter change from the secondary system may be intercepted before the request is received by a field device or a controller for evaluation by an operator of the distributed control system. The validation process may provide a plant operator with override authority to approve or deny a set of critical parameter changes to an active field device or other active plant device.

High availability and data migration in a distributed process control computing environment. Allocation algorithms distribute data and applications among available compute nodes, such as controllers in a process control system. In the process control system, an input/output device, such as a fieldbus module, can be used by any controller. Databases store critical execution information for immediate takeover by a backup compute element. The compute nodes are configured to execute algorithms for mitigating dead time in the distributed computing environment.