US-20260126783-A1 - Application of Choreography Mechanisms within an Automated Module

US20260126783A1US 20260126783 A1US20260126783 A1US 20260126783A1US-20260126783-A1

Abstract

A technical module includes a plurality of technical objects that are each configured to implement a technical function, a control unit configured to control the technical functions of individual technical objects, and a communication unit configured to exchange data with external communication partners, wherein the control unit comprises a computer-implemented execution service having a configurable logic unit, where the computer-implemented execution service is configured to receive rules and interconnections from an external communication partner via the communication unit, and configure the logic unit based on the received rules and interconnections, and where the control unit is configured to control, via the configured logic unit, the technical objects for operating the technical module in the technical plant.

Inventors

Andreas Stutz
Mathias Maurmaier

Assignees

SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20220930

Claims (20)

1 .- 15 . (canceled)
16 . A technical module, comprising: a plurality of technical objects which are each configured to perform a technical function; a control unit configured to control the technical functions of individual technical objects of the plurality of technical objects; and a communication unit configured to exchange data with external communication partners; wherein the control unit includes a computer-implemented execution service with a configurable logic unit; wherein the computer-implemented execution service is configured to: receive rules and interconnections from an external communication partner via the communication unit; and implement a configuration of the logic unit on the basis of the received rules and interconnections; and wherein the control unit is configured to use the configured logic unit to control the technical objects for operation of the technical module in the technical installation.
17 . The technical module as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the communication unit includes a server for bidirectional communication between the technical module and the external communication partner.
18 . The technical module as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the server is an Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server.
19 . The technical module as claimed in claim 16 , wherein at least one technical function is addressable by the control unit as a service which is performable in accordance with the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 standard.
20 . The technical module as claimed in claim 17 , wherein at least one technical function is addressable by the control unit as a service which is performable in accordance with the VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658 standard.
21 . The technical module as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the communication unit is configured to obtain rules and interconnections, which relate to which service or which services are to be performed, from the external communication partner, and to forward the obtained rules and interconnections to the control unit.
22 . A technical installation, comprising at least one technical module as claimed in claim 16 , and at least one higher-level controller unit formed separately from the at least one technical module.
23 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the technical installation comprises a manufacturing or process installation.
24 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the higher-level controller unit comprises a computer-implemented editing tool which is configured to specify the rules and interconnections; and wherein the higher-level controller unit includes a communication unit for transferring the rules and interconnections to the communication unit of the at least one technical module.
25 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the higher-level controller unit is formed as a control system which comprises at least one operator station server.
26 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 24 , wherein the higher-level controller unit is formed as a control system which comprises at least one operator station server.
27 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the technical installation is configured to visualize the rules and interconnections for an operator of the technical installation.
28 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 24 , wherein the technical installation is configured to visualize the rules and interconnections for an operator of the technical installation.
29 . The technical installation as claimed in claim 25 , wherein the technical installation is configured to visualize the rules and interconnections for an operator of the technical installation.
30 . A method for operating a technical module in a technical installation, the technical module comprising a plurality of technical objects which are each configured to perform a technical function, a control unit configured to control the technical objects of the individual objects, a communication unit configured to exchange data with external communication partners, the method comprising: a) integrating the technical module into the technical installation, said integrating including configuring a communication connection between the technical module and a higher-level controller unit of the technical installation; b) transferring rules and interconnections to the communication unit via the higher-level controller unit as an external communication partner of the technical module, and forwarding the rules and interconnections to a computer-implemented execution service of the control unit; c) configuring automatically a configurable logic unit based on the received rules and interconnections via the computer-implemented execution service; d) controlling the technical objects via the configured logic unit for operating the technical module in the technical installation.
31 . The method as claimed in claim 30 , wherein the controller unit comprises a control system of the technical installation.
32 . The method as claimed in claim 30 , wherein the technical installation is a manufacturing or processing installation.
33 . The method as claimed in claim 30 , wherein step b) occurs based on a server architecture.
34 . The method as claimed in claim 33 , wherein the server architecture comprises an Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server architecture.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/EP 2022/077343 filed 30 Sep. 2022. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a technical installation, a method for operating a technical module in the technical installation, a computer program with program code instructions which are executable by a computer, a computer-readable medium and a technical module, comprising a plurality of technical objects that are each configured to perform a technical function, a control unit configured to control the technical functions of the individual technical objects, and a communication unit configured to exchange data with external communication partners. 2. Description of the Related Art Primarily in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals industries, heavy demands are placed on the operators of technical installations to be able to react rapidly to changing market requirements. Modular installations enable the installation operators to shorten the time-to-market significantly and to react rapidly to altered market conditions by re-structuring the installation with little effort. For this purpose, the installation operators can build up a pool of modular units (for example, process units), with the aid of which they can assemble a specific installation via “orchestration”. If the installation is to be restructured, then individual modules are removed and are replaced with other, for example, more efficient, modules. In conventional automation systems, such as “PCS 7” or the “TIA portal” from Siemens, classic concepts of automation technology are used to connect the modules in terms of communication technology and actuate the functions thereof. In this context, communication connections are project-engineered, operator displays are developed and higher-level execution sequences are created with languages such as “S7-graph” or “SFC (sequential flow chart)”. This is complex and, due to a lack of relevant experience on the part of process technicians, can only be performed with difficulty. WO 2016/074730 A1 describes a method for creating a modular technical installation via self-description information regarding the modules. This method is based upon self-description information regarding the individual modules that is available online. In an orchestration process of a modular installation, however, this information is typically not available (online), because planning occurs offline based on statistical type description information, such as the module type package (MTP) (see the proposal for the standard “VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658” published on Jan. 4, 2018 by the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) (Association of German Engineers) ). In general, the flexibility and adaptivity of production systems represents a key factor for future production systems in volatile markets. These can be achieved through the orchestration of intelligent technical modules (also referred to as “equipment assemblies” or “package units”) for an installation. In this context, each technical module offers functions, which are parameterized by a higher-level orchestration entity (also referred to as “orchestration layer”) and can be called in the correct order. The more the functions are divided into small parts, the greater the flexibility when orchestrating larger functions therefrom. However, functions divided into small parts require a higher level of effort for the coordination and engineering thereof. If a technical module offers somewhat less granular functions, then these are too specific for many application cases, which in turn restricts the flexibility. In the process industry, following the Instruction Set Architecture 88 (ISA-88) or International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61512 standards, a procedural model is available that describes various levels of granularity for the individual functions. Starting from the highest level of a “procedure”, generally also referred to as a recipe, this is followed by three further levels with functions that are divided into increasingly smaller parts (“unit procedure”, “operation”, “phase”). As the functions are divided into smaller parts, the effort for coordinating these functions increases. In addition to procedural relationships, regulatory and interlocking relationships then also have greater importance. Today, both central and decentralized orchestration approaches are used for the orchestration of functions. Both variants work exclusively on the procedural level to merge functions divided into small parts to form a larger function (“procedure” or “unit procedure”). In a central orchestration, the “unit operation” is implemented by the installation operator in the orchestration entity through the orchestration of functions divided into small parts, via purely procedural relationships, mostly resolved via step transition logic. Here, the orchestration in the orchestration entity also requires the consideration