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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8145333 | Ontology-based system and method for industrial control An industrial control system and method of controlling an industrial process are disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the control system includes an order system configured to receive an order from an external source and process the order to generate an ord... | 03/27/2012 |
| 8126574 | System and method for dynamic multi-objective optimization of machine selection, integration and utilization The invention provides control systems and methodologies for controlling a process having one or more motorized pumps and associated motor drives, which provide for optimized process performance according to one or more performance criteria, such as efficiency, comp... | 02/28/2012 |
| 8125104 | Method and apparatus for power supply A power supply that is capable of supplying power to an input/output channel for an Industrial Process Control System. The power supply includes a primary voltage converter having a first voltage input and a second voltage output, and overvoltage protection componen... | 02/28/2012 |
| 8119940 | Contact block The present invention includes a contact block for a safety switch that has a support structure and a pair of electrical contacts that are fixed in position on the support structure. The contact block includes a contact block plunger provided with a bridging contact... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8118152 | Safety arrangement A safety arrangement for use with a piece of equipment. The safety arrangement includes a signal generating unit for generating an optical signal, an elongate element, and a signal detecting unit. The elongate element is disposed along, about, around or through the ... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8112769 | System and method for implementing and/or operating network interface devices to achieve network-based communications A computer system, and related components including network interface devices, as well as methods for implementing and/or operating network interface devices to achieve network-based communications, are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the computer system incl... | 02/07/2012 |
| 8107058 | Sensor device and system having a conveyor and a sensor device A sensor device having a sensor arrangement for detecting moving objects that includes a sensor and an electronic unit. The sensor arrangement is designed to detect an object and to subsequently investigate whether there are present within the surface of the object ... | 01/31/2012 |
| 8103460 | Customizable contactor prognostics system A method and apparatus for identifying the health status of a contactor include the steps of counting the number of operations performed by the contactor, identifying a closing time of the contactor, using the number of operations and the closing time to assess the ... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8103385 | Optimizing product drying through parallel lines of centrifuges and dryer process units The present invention provides novel techniques for controlling flow rates through parallel distribution paths of centrifuges and dryers using model predictive control. In particular, the present techniques are presented in the context of biofuel production, wherein... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8102559 | System and method for controlling printing applications over variable layouts A system and method for accurately controlling a printing process regardless web width or printing layout. A user interface is provided for configuring a printing application that includes a plurality of sensors arranged to form an interface region. The sensors are ... | 01/24/2012 |
| 8078289 | Model predictive control with variable trajectory sharing One or more techniques are provided for the sharing of variable trajectories between multiple controllers in a control system. In general, the present technique is based upon the sharing of predicted desired variable trajectories between multiple controllers requiri... | 12/13/2011 |
| 8071901 | Safety switch A safety switch for affecting the operating state of equipment to which the safety switch is at least indirectly connected. The safety switch includes a configuration, such as a number of contacts, that is arranged to change from a first condition to a second condit... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8055375 | Analytical generator of key performance indicators for pivoting on metrics for comprehensive visualizations A guidance system of an industrial process captures process parameter data that is correlated with a human-machine interface (HMI) in order to learn how an experienced operator selects visualizations of key performance indicators (KPI) in order to take a corrective ... | 11/08/2011 |
| 8046588 | Audit trail in a programmable safety instrumented system via biometric signature(s) System(s) and method(s) that facilitate utilizing biometric sensors (e.g., fingerprint, hand scan, voice recognition . . . ) in manufacturing systems in order to maintain accurate safety audit trails. A safety audit system, utilizing a biometric sensing device, faci... | 10/25/2011 |
| 8036763 | Dynamic controller utilizing a hybrid model A system and method for predicting operation of a plant or process receive an input value from the plant or process. An integrity of a non-linear model corresponding to a local input space of the input value may be determined. The non-linear model may include an emp... | 10/11/2011 |
| 8032236 | Asymetrical process parameter control system and method A technique is disclosed for asymmetrically controlling a process parameter based upon the direction of a prediction error between a predicted value determined using an inferential model and a laboratory measurement of the parameter. The present technique provides f... | 10/04/2011 |
| 8032235 | Model predictive control system and method for reduction of steady state error A technique is disclosed for reducing an error in a controlled variable via model predictive control. A predicted error in the controlled variable is determined for a forward-looking control horizon based upon measured or computed variables. The integral of the pred... | 10/04/2011 |
| 8025227 | Access to distributed databases via pointer stored in RFID tag Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in a data management scheme that combines both distributed as well as a hierarchical (object-oriented) data management structure. The hierarchical databases will store data records such that each or selected entities ... | 09/27/2011 |
| 8019701 | Training a model of a non-linear process System and method for modeling a nonlinear process. A combined model for predictive optimization or control of a nonlinear process includes a nonlinear approximator, coupled to a parameterized dynamic or static model, operable to model the nonlinear process. The non... | 09/13/2011 |
| 8010218 | Industrial automation interfaces integrated with enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) systems A visualization system integrated with an enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) system utilizing preconfigured EMI data models, workflow reports and process event notifications to optimize a manufacturing process. The visualization system and the EMI system ex... | 08/30/2011 |
| 7997475 | Systems and methods that integrate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with industrial controllers The subject invention relates to systems and methods that provide electronic data (e.g., Electronic Product Code (EPC) data) obtained from Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags by RFID readers and/or from servers to one or more industrial components (e.g., cont... | 08/16/2011 |
| 7996094 | Usage of a virtual unit Problems can occur when a controller is limited in ownership to one process. To minimize these problems, phantom Units can be used that are direct replicas of actual Units. Thus, multiple processes can own a single controller—one process can own the actual Unit wh... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7994919 | Systems and methods that integrate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with agent-based control systems The subject invention relates to systems and methods that distribute electronic data, such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) data, obtained from RFID tags by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers and/or servers to agents within an agent-based control system. ... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7994777 | Apparatus and methods for an inductive proximity sensor An inductive proximity sensor is disclosed. The proximity sensor includes a housing having at least a first pair of inductive coils disposed within the housing. One of the first pair of inductive coils is opposite in polarity from another one of the first pair of in... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7990413 | Camera sensor job selection method Systems and methods are disclosed that facilitate permitting a user to select one of a plurality of job setups stored in a camera sensor. The plurality of job setups can be pre-programmed into the sensor utilizing conventional methods. During sensor operation, a use... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7979706 | Systems and methods for queuing an action in industrial automation systems The subject invention relates to a system and methodology facilitating automated manufacturing processes in a regulated industrial controller environment, wherein operator commands are tied to one or more signature requirements before the requested commands take eff... | 07/12/2011 |
| 7974937 | Adaptive embedded historians with aggregator component Systems and methods that aggregate history data collected via embedded historians with additional data that is supplied by third parties. Triggering events can be defined for initiating aggregation of such history data with additional data, which enable a process/ap... | 07/05/2011 |
| 7965478 | System and method for detecting a fault condition A system and method for detecting a fault condition by a relay is provided. The system includes means for detecting phase currents through three electrical phases, means for detecting a ground fault current, a processor configured to perform a current-based function... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7965086 | Differential-mode current sensor method Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed, including a ground-fault sensor that has a plurality of conductors each disposed one inside of another except for an outer conductor and a field sensor configured to sense an electric field, a magnetic field, or both. In ... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7965085 | Differential-mode current sensor Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed, including a ground-fault sensor that has a plurality of conductors each disposed one inside of another except for an outer conductor and a field sensor configured to sense an electric field, a magnetic field, or both. In ... | 06/21/2011 |
| 7962440 | Adaptive industrial systems via embedded historian data Systems and methods that provide for adaptive processes in an industrial setting. Historian data, in conjunction with current collected data, can be converted into decision making information that is subsequently employed for modifying a process in real time. A proc... | 06/14/2011 |
| 7949483 | Integration of intelligent motor with power management device A method and apparatus provide for reduced cost and complexity in managing an intelligent motor in an architecture in which information is transferred between a power management device and the intelligent motor. The information may be used by an embedded processor o... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7948257 | Method and apparatus for testing and protecting digital output circuits A method and system for testing and protecting the operability of an output module. An output channel includes a transistor having a gate, a source, and a drain. The output channel drives a load with a load voltage and a load current in dependence upon a gate drive ... | 05/24/2011 |
| 7933849 | Integrated model predictive control of batch and continuous processes in a biofuel production process System and method for managing a biofuel production process. An integrated dynamic multivariate predictive model is provided that includes a continuous process model representing a continuous process of the biofuel production process, a batch process model represent... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7933668 | Wireless industrial control user interface with configurable software capabilities A user interface operable to connect to a device within an industrial control system includes a memory and a processing unit. The memory is operable to store a plurality of software applications for interfacing with the device and a configuration mask including acce... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7933666 | Adjustable data collection rate for embedded historians Systems and methods that can vary a data collection rate via a rate adjustment component, to collect data with different level of granularity. The rate adjustment component can further include an estimation component that can automatically predict a required samplin... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7932827 | Mobile RFID reader with integrated location awareness for material tracking and management A portable RFID reader (or reader/writer) that also employs a location determination subsystem that facilitates determination of the reader (or reader/writer) location. The location subsystem can employ a satellite-based GPS (Global Positioning System) location tech... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7932809 | RFID/biometric area protection The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates providing a safety mechanism associated with a protective zone in an industrial automation environment. An radio frequency identification (RFID) component can receive data from an RFID tag... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7932644 | Safety switch A safety switch configured to determine whether a magnetically operated switch which forms part of the safety switch has been welded closed. The safety switch is configured to establish a first magnetic field in the vicinity of the magnetically operated switch. The ... | 04/26/2011 |
| 7931197 | RFID-based product manufacturing and lifecycle management Architecture that utilizes RFID technology in product manufacturing and lifecycle management to track the depletion of inventory, verify the correctness of a part, monitor the completeness of an assembled product, and check a returned product to determine warranty p... | 04/26/2011 |
