AN EVENT CHAIN REACTION SYSTEM

Abstract

An event chain reaction system (128) is disclosed. The event chain reaction system (128) comprises: —at least one communication interface (156) configured for receiving at least one event stream (160), wherein the event stream (160) comprises at least one sequence of ordered events generated by at least one analytical system (112), wherein each event comprises information about a change in a state of the analytical system (112) and/or any of loaded resources; —at least one chain reaction component (158) comprising at least one chain matching element (162), wherein the chain matching element (162) is configured for recognizing at least one chain on the event stream (160), wherein the chain comprises a set of ordered events to be searched, wherein a first event of the chain defines a start event (166), wherein the chain matching element (162) is configured for identifying the start event (166) in the event stream (160) and, upon identifying the start event (166), the chain matching element (162) is configured for successively determining whether the other events of the chain match to one of the events of the event stream (160), wherein, in case all events of the chain are matched to events of the event stream (160), the chain matching element (162) is configured for triggering at least one reaction, wherein the reaction comprises generating information that a chain was matched and/or issuing a command to at least one component of the analytical system (112), wherein, in case one of the events of the chain is not matched, the chain matching element (162) is configured for resetting to its initial state and waiting for the start event (166). Further, a system (110) for monitoring and/or controlling, a computer implemented method and a computer program for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system (112), a computer implemented method and a computer program for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system (112) are disclosed.

Claims

1. An event chain reaction system comprising at least one communication interface configured for receiving at least one event stream, wherein the event stream comprises at least one sequence of ordered events generated by at least one analytical system, wherein each event comprises information about a change in a state of the analytical system and/or any of loaded resources; at least one chain reaction component comprising at least one chain matching element, wherein the chain matching element is configured for recognizing at least one chain on the event stream, wherein the chain comprises a set of ordered events to be searched, wherein a first event of the chain defines a start event, wherein the chain matching element is configured for identifying the start event in the event stream and, upon identifying the start event, the chain matching element is configured for successively determining whether the other events of the chain match to one of the events of the event stream, wherein, in case all events of the chain are matched to events of the event stream, the chain matching element is configured for triggering at least one reaction, wherein the reaction comprises generating information that a chain was matched and/or issuing a command to at least one component of the analytical system, wherein, in case one of the events of the chain is not matched, the chain matching element is configured for resetting to an initial state and waiting for the start event.

2. The event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein the chain reaction component comprises a plurality of chain matching elements, wherein the chain reaction component is configured for multiple chain matching in parallel.

3. The event chain reaction system according to claim 2, wherein the chain reaction component is configured for triggering multiple reactions at the same time.

4. The event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein each of the events comprises a time stamp corresponding to when the event was produced.

5. The event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein each of the events comprises an originator identifier indicating which identity has produced the event.

6. The event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein the chain is an ordered set of events indicative for a feature of the analytical system.

7. The event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein the information about a change in a state of the analytical system is at least one of an operational information or a sensor signal generated by at least one sensor of the analytical system.

8. The event chain reaction system according to claim 7, wherein the information about a change in a state of the analytical system is at least one information selected from the group consisting of: a sensor signal indicating that performance is changing; a sensor signal indicating that a sample rack is loaded; a sensor signal indicating that sample container is identified, a sensor signal indicating that over temperature is detected, a sensor signal indicating that a fuse is broken, a sensor signal indicating that performance is changing, and a sensor signal indicating that at least one hardware component of the analytical system performs differently than expected.

9. A system for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system, wherein the system comprises at least one cloud-based infrastructure, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one first communication interface configured for receiving a plurality of events, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one storage unit configured for storing the received events, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one event chain reaction system according to claim 1, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one streaming platform configured for streaming events to the event chain reaction system, wherein the event chain reaction system is configured for detecting the feature of the component of the analytical system by matching the chain to the event stream, wherein the system comprises at least one downstream system, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one second interface which is configured for providing the at least one reaction triggered by the event chain reaction system to the downstream system, wherein the downstream system is configured for performing at least one action based on the reaction, wherein the action is one or more of generating a notification about the feature to at least one operator and/or controlling the feature of the component of the analytical system by adapting at least one property of the component of the analytical system.

10. The system for monitoring and/or controlling according to claim 9, wherein the streaming platform is configured for streaming events to a plurality of subscribers in parallel.

11. The system for monitoring and/or controlling according to claim 9, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one extraction and storage unit configured for transforming the events into a generic data structure.

12. The system for monitoring and/or controlling according to claim 9, wherein the cloud-based infrastructure comprises at least one notification bus configured for exchanging data between components of the cloud-based infrastructure.

13. The system for monitoring and/or controlling according to claim 9, wherein the system comprises at least one prediction unit configured for predicting future behavior of the analytical system based on event data.

14. A computer implemented method for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system, wherein in the method at least one event chain reaction system according to claim 1 referring to an event chain reaction system is used, wherein the method comprises the following steps: i) providing at least one event stream via the communication interface, wherein the event stream comprises at least one sequence of ordered events generated by the component of the analytical system, wherein each event comprises information about a change in a state of the analytical system and/or any of the loaded resources; ii) determining the feature of the component of the analytical system by recognizing at least one chain on the event stream by using the chain matching element of the chain reaction component, wherein the chain comprises a set of ordered events to be searched, wherein a first event of the chain defines a start event, wherein the recognizing comprises identifying the start event in the event stream and, upon identifying the start event, successively determining whether the other events of the chain match to one of the events of the event stream; iii) triggering at least one reaction, in case all events of the chain are matched to events of the event stream, wherein the reaction comprises generating information that a chain was matched and/or issuing a command to at least one component of the analytical system, or resetting of the chain matching element to its initial state and waiting for the start event, in case one of the events of the chain is not matched.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the chain is an ordered set of events indicative for a feature of the analytical system.

16. A computer program for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system, configured for causing a computer or computer network to fully or partially perform the method for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system according to claim 14, when executed on the computer or computer network, wherein the computer program is configured to perform at least steps i) to iii) of the method for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system (112) according to claim 14.

17. A computer implemented method for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system, wherein in the method at least one system for monitoring and/or controlling according to claim 9 is used, wherein the method comprises the following steps: I) receiving a plurality of events via the first communication interface of the cloud-based infrastructure; II) storing the received events with the storage unit of the cloud-based infrastructure; III) streaming events to the event chain reaction system via the streaming platform; IV) detecting the feature of the component of the analytical system by matching the chain to the event stream with the event chain reaction system; V) providing the at least one reaction triggered by the event chain reaction system to the downstream system via the second interface; VI) the downstream system performing at least one action based on the reaction, wherein the action is one or more of generating a notification about the feature to at least one operator and/or controlling the feature of the component of the analytical system by adapting at least one property of the component of the analytical system.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the method comprises transforming the events into a generic data structure by using at least one extraction and storage unit of the cloud-based infrastructure.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the method comprises exchange of data between components of the cloud-based infrastructure via at least one notification bus.

20. A computer program for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system, configured for causing a computer or computer network to fully or partially perform the method for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system (112) according to claim 17, when executed on the computer or computer network, wherein the computer program is configured to perform at least steps I) to VI) of the method for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system (112) according to claim 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0161] In FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a system 110 for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system 112 is shown in a schematic view. The system 110 for monitoring and/or controlling comprises at least one cloud-based infrastructure 114 and at least one downstream system 116.

[0162] The analytical system 112 may publish or stream events to the cloud-based infrastructure 114. Additionally or alternatively, the analytical system 112 may generate at least one file containing a data collection 118, such as a batch of data, specifically containing a plurality of events.

[0163] The at least one cloud-based infrastructure 114 comprises at least one first communication interface 120 for receiving the plurality of events. Specifically, the first communication interface 120 may receive the plurality of events from the analytical system 112 contained in the at least one file and/or in at least one event stream. The cloud-based infrastructure 114 further comprises at least one storage unit 122. The storage unit 122 is configured for storing the received events. Thus, the at least one communication interface 120 may be configured for extracting events 124 from the at least one file containing the data collection 118 from the analytical system 112 and, further, for transmitting the received events to the at least one storage unit 122. In case the analytical system 112 publishes or streams the plurality of events directly to the cloud-based infrastructure 114, the first communication interface 120 may be configured for storing the events 126 of the event stream separately, such as one by one, on the storage unit 122.

[0164] The cloud-based interface infrastructure 114 further comprises at least one event chain reaction system 128 and at least one streaming platform 130. The at least one streaming platform 130 is configured for streaming events to the event chain reaction system 128. The event chain reaction system 128 is configured for detecting the feature of the component of the analytical system 112 by matching the chain to the event stream.

[0165] The cloud-based infrastructure 114 may comprise further components connected to the at least one streaming platform 130. For example, the cloud-based infrastructure 114 may comprise at least one data aggregator 132 which may be configured for aggregating data received from the streaming platform 130 via the event stream. The cloud-based infrastructure 114 may also comprise at least one customer data aggregator 134. The customer data aggregator 134 may be configured for receiving events of the event stream from the streaming platform 130 and, further, for aggregating the received data. The cloud-based infrastructure 114 may allow a parallel event processing of the event stream by the event chain reaction system 128 and the further components, such as the data aggregator 132 and/or the customer data aggregator 134.

[0166] Further, the cloud-based infrastructure 114 comprises at least one second interface 136 which is configured for providing the at least one reaction triggered by the event chain reaction system 128 to the downstream system 116. The at least one downstream system 116 is configured for performing at least one action based on the reaction. The action is one or more of generating a notification about the feature to at least one operator and/or controlling the feature of the component of the analytical system 112 by adapting at least one property of the component of the analytical system 112.

[0167] The downstream system 116 may further comprise at least one platform 138, such as at least one platform 140. The at least one platform 138 may be connected to the at least one data aggregator 132, specifically to the at least one customer data aggregator 134, and may be configured for receiving the aggregated data.

[0168] Further, the cloud-based infrastructure 114 may comprise at least one extraction and storage unit 141. The at least one extraction and storage unit 141 may be configured for transforming the events into a generic structure.

[0169] The cloud-based infrastructure 114 may further comprise at least one notification bus 142. The notification bus 142 may be configured for transferring data, specifically events from the event stream, between one or more components of the cloud-based infrastructure 114. Specifically, the notification bus 142 may be configured for transferring system-level events between one or more components of the cloud-based infrastructure 114. For example, the notification bus 142 may be configured for transferring events from the first communication interface 120 to the at least one extraction and storage unit 141.

[0170] The at least one extraction and storage unit 141 may comprise further components. Specifically, the extraction and storage unit 141 may comprise at least one system event store 144. The system event store 144 may be connected to the notification bus 142 via at least one system event processor 146. The system event processor 146 may subscribe to the notification bus 142 and, thus, may be configured for storing the events of the event stream on the system event store 144. The system event processor 146 may also be comprised by the extraction and storage unit 141.

[0171] Further, the extraction and storage unit 141 may comprise at least one database management system 148. The databased management system 148 may subscribe to the at least one notification bus 142. Further, the database management system 148 may be configured for reading models in the events from the event stream received via the notification bus 142 and for storing the events of the event stream in at least one relational database 150, which may further be comprised by the extraction and storage unit 141. The database management system 148 may be accessible via the at least one downstream system 116. Specifically, the downstream system 116 may comprise at least one application programming interface (API) 152, such as a UI API. The application programming interface 152 may configured for reading data from the relational database 150 via the database management system 148. Further, the application programming interface 152 may be connected to at least one web browser 154 via at least one network and, thus, may be accessible via the at least one network using a computer outside the cloud-based infrastructure 114.

[0172] In FIG. 2, another exemplary embodiment of a system 110 for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system 112 is shown in a schematic view. The system 110 shown in FIG. 2 may correspond widely to the system 110 shown in FIG. 1. Thus, reference may be made to the description of FIG. 1.

[0173] In contrast to the system 110 shown in FIG. 1, the system 110 of FIG. 2 may not comprise a notification bus 142. Instead of the notification bus 142, the at least one streaming platform 130 may be used for transferring system-level notifications between one or more components of the system 110. Thus, the parallel event processing may further comprise the processing of events of the event stream by the system event store 144 and/or by the database management system 148. Thus, one or more or even all of the event chain reaction system 128, the data aggregator 132, the customer data aggregator 134, the system event store 144 and/or the database management system 148 may publish events, specifically system-level events, to the at least one streaming platform 130.

[0174] In FIG. 3, an exemplary embodiment of an event chain reaction system 128 is shown in a schematic view. The event chain reaction system 128 comprises at least one communication interface 156 and at least one chain reaction component 158. The at least one chain reaction component 158 comprises at least one chain matching element 162.

[0175] The at least one communication interface 156 is configured for receiving at least one event stream 160. The event stream 160 comprises at least one sequence of ordered events generated by the at least one analytical system 112. Further, each event comprises information about a change in a state of the analytical system 112 and/or any of loaded resources. The at least one communication interface 156 may be configured for transmitting the events of the event stream 160 to the chain reaction component 158, specifically to the at least one chain matching element 162. In particular, the events of the event stream 160 may be sent separately, such as one by one, to the chain reaction component 158.

[0176] The chain matching element 162 is configured for recognizing at least one chain on the event stream 160, wherein the chain comprises a set of ordered events to be searched. A first event of the chain defines a start event 166. The chain matching element 162 is configured for identifying the start event 166 in the event stream 160 and, upon identifying the start event 166, the chain matching element 162 is configured for successively determining whether the other events of the chain match to one of the events of the event stream 160. In case all events of the chain are matched to events of the event stream 160, the chain matching element 162 is configured for triggering at least one reaction. The reaction comprises generating information that a chain was matched and/or issuing a command to at least one component of the analytical system 112. The chain matching element 162 may further be configured for providing the at least one reaction to the downstream system 116 of the cloud-based infrastructure 114. In case one of the events of the chain is not matched, the chain matching element 162 is configured for resetting to its initial state and waiting for the start event 166.

[0177] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of a chain matching element 162 in a schematic view. The chain matching element 162 may be configured for receiving the at least one event stream 160, as indicated in FIG. 4 by the arrow pointing to the chain matching element 162. The chain matching element 162 may store at least one event chain 164 to be searched. Specifically, each chain matching element 162 may store one event chain 164 to be searched. Further, the chain matching element 162 may wait until the event stream 160 comprises the start event 166 of the event chain 164. Thus, after identifying the start event 166, the chain matching element 162 may determine if the sequence of events on the event stream 160 may correspond to the sequence of events of the event chain 164. The end of the event chain 164 may be marked by an end event 168. If the sequence of events on the event stream 160 matches the sequence of events of the event chain 164 between the start event 166 and the end event 168, the chain matching element 162 may be configured for triggering a reaction that indicates the match 170.

[0178] In FIG. 5, a chain matching process in a chain matching element 162 is shown. The chain matching component 162 may comprise an event chain 164 to be searched. The event chain 164 may comprise a sequence of events, wherein the events of the event chain 164 may also comprise one or more attributes 172. The chain matching element 162 may start to compare the event chain 164 with the event stream 160 if the start event 166 was found on the event stream 160. The chain matching element 162 may further compare the events of the event chain 164 to be searched with the events of the event stream 160, also taking into account the attributes 172 of the respective event. In the exemplary event stream 160 shown in FIG. 5, the event stream 160 matches the event chain 164 to be searched: The expected sequence of events of the event chain 164 and their attributes 172 is found in the event stream 160. Consequently, the event chain 164 of the chain matching element 162 may be considered to be matched and a reaction may be triggered by the chain matching element 162 indicating the match.

[0179] In FIG. 6, a no chain matching process in a chain matching element 162 is shown. The chain matching element 162 may compare the event chain 164 with the received event stream 160. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the start event 166 is matched to an event of the event stream 160, but the second event has a problem: The type of the expected event matches the type of the received event on the event stream 160 and, thus, the type of the second event may be considered correct. Contrarily, the attributes 172 of the received events is different from the expected event of the event chain 164. In this example, the attribute 172 A1 of the second event on the event chain 164 has the expected value of true but the received event of the event stream 160 has an A1 attribute value of false. In this example, the event chain 164 may be considered broken and, thus, no match nor reaction may be triggered by the chain matching element 162. Once the event chain 164 is considered broken, the chain matching element 162 may reset itself and may start waiting for the start event 166 again.

[0180] In FIG. 7, a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a computer implemented method for determining at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system 112 is shown. At least one event chain reaction system 128 is used in the method. Further, the method comprises the following steps, which may specifically be performed in the given order. Still, a different order may also be possible. It may be possible to perform two or more of the method steps fully or partially simultaneously. It may further be possible to perform one, more than one or even all of the method steps once or repeatedly. The method may comprise additional method steps that are not listed.

[0181] The method comprises: [0182] i) (denoted by reference number 174) providing at least one event stream 160 via the communication interface 156, wherein the event stream 160 comprises at least one sequence of ordered events generated by the component of the analytical system 112, wherein each event comprises information about a change in a state of the analytical system 112 and/or any of the loaded resources; [0183] ii) (denoted by reference number 176) determining the feature of the component of the analytical system 112 by recognizing at least one chain on the event stream 160 by using the chain matching element 162 of the chain reaction component 158, wherein the chain comprises a set of ordered events to be searched, wherein a first event of the chain defines a start event 166, wherein the recognizing comprises identifying the start event 166 in the event stream 160 and, upon identifying the start event 166, successively determining whether the other events of the chain match to one of the events of the event stream 160; [0184] iii) (denoted by reference number 178) triggering at least one reaction, in case all events of the chain are matched to events of the event stream 160, wherein the reaction comprises generating information that a chain was matched and/or issuing a command to at least one component of the analytical system 112, or resetting of the chain matching element 162 to its initial state and waiting for the start event 166, in case one of the events of the chain is not matched.

[0185] FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a computer implemented method for monitoring and/or controlling at least one feature of at least one component of an analytical system 112. In the method at least one system 110 for monitoring and/or controlling is used. Further, the method comprises the following steps, which may specifically be performed in the given order. Still, a different order may also be possible. It may be possible to perform two or more of the method steps fully or partially simultaneously. It may further be possible to perform one, more than one or even all of the method steps once or repeatedly. The method may comprise additional method steps that are not listed.

[0186] The method comprises the following steps: [0187] I) (denoted by reference number 180) receiving a plurality of events via the first communication interface 120 of the cloud-based infrastructure 114; [0188] II) (denoted by reference number 182) storing the received events with the storage unit 122 of the cloud-based infrastructure 114; [0189] III) (denoted by reference number 184) streaming events to the event chain reaction system 128 via the streaming platform 130; [0190] IV) (denoted by reference number 186) detecting the feature of the component of the analytical system 112 by matching the chain to the event stream 160 with the event chain reaction system 128; [0191] V) (denoted by reference number 188) providing the at least one reaction triggered by the event chain reaction system 128 to the downstream system 116 via the second interface 136; [0192] VI) (denoted by reference number 190) the downstream system 116 performing at least one action based on the reaction, wherein the action is one or more of generating a notification about the feature to at least one operator and/or controlling the feature of the component of the analytical system 112 by adapting at least one property of the component of the analytical system 112.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0193] 110 system for monitoring and/or controlling [0194] 112 analytical system [0195] 114 cloud-based infrastructure [0196] 116 downstream system [0197] 118 data collection [0198] 120 first communication interface [0199] 122 storage unit [0200] 124 extracting events [0201] 126 storing events [0202] 128 event chain reaction system [0203] 130 streaming platform [0204] 132 data aggregator [0205] 134 customer data aggregator [0206] 136 second interface [0207] 138 platform [0208] 140 platform [0209] 141 extraction and storage unit [0210] 142 notification bus [0211] 144 system event store [0212] 146 system event processor [0213] 148 database management system [0214] 150 relational database [0215] 152 application programming interface [0216] 154 web browser [0217] 156 communication interface [0218] 158 chain reaction component [0219] 160 event stream [0220] 162 chain matching element [0221] 164 event chain [0222] 166 start event [0223] 168 end event [0224] 170 match [0225] 172 attribute [0226] 174 providing at least one event stream [0227] 176 determining the feature of the component of the analytical system [0228] 178 triggering at least one reaction [0229] 180 receiving a plurality of events [0230] 182 storing the received events [0231] 184 streaming events [0232] 186 detecting the feature of the component of the analytical system [0233] 188 providing at least one reaction [0234] 190 performing at least one action