Patents by Inventor Dirk Schulz

Dirk Schulz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11961386
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for determining an operational state of an industrial plant includes acquiring alarms raised within the plant and adding them to a pool of important alarms, determining whether a physical state of the plant indicated by a first alarm causes a second alarm or meets a predetermined state-dependent condition and, if so, moving the first alarm to a pool of informative alarms; and determining the operational state of the plant and/or a corrective action for improving this operational state based on the alarms in the pool of important alarms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Mario Hoernicke, Katharina Stark, Dirk Schulz
  • Publication number: 20240118062
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a pyrotechnic object, in particular an irritation body, irritation projectile or ammunition, comprising an ignition device, comprising a delay chamber extending along a delay path, in which chamber a delay charge is accommodated, and comprising at least one and preferably a plurality of effect chambers in which or in each of which an effect charge to be ignited is accommodated, wherein the delay chamber is transversely connected to a respective effect chamber via a respective over-ignition opening which branches off from the delay chamber and forms an over-ignition path, wherein in the case of a plurality of effect chambers the plurality of over-ignition openings are arranged successively downstream along the delay path in the order of the effect charges to be ignited.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2023
    Publication date: April 11, 2024
    Inventors: Martin WUSTLICH, Frank HABEL, Kai LÜBBERS, Ernest SCHULZ, Dirk CEGIEL, Robert FISCHER
  • Publication number: 20240111272
    Abstract: A computer-implemented broker entity receives from a requesting device a request for one or more target values of state information that have sought target semantic meanings; obtains one or more source values of state information that are associated with given source semantic meanings; obtains at least in part from a transformation library one or more transformations, wherein each transformation maps one or more first values that are associated with first semantic meanings to one or more second values that are associated with second semantic meanings; applies the one or more transformations or a new transformation obtained based on the one or more transformations to the source values of state information, thereby obtaining the one or more target values of state information; and transmits the one or more target values to the requesting device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2023
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Abdulkadir Karaagac, Johannes Schmitt, Dirk Schulz
  • Patent number: 11940778
    Abstract: A method of commissioning a field device in an industrial system network includes: a) connecting a field device to an industrial system network; c) providing information about the field device, the information including functional information for the field device; d) utilizing the functional information for the field device to retrieve information relating to a role of the field device in an automation application; f) utilizing capability information relating to a field device type of the field device and the information relating to the role of the field device in the automation application to retrieve a parameter set for the field device for operation in the automation application; and g) downloading the parameter set to the field device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Roland Braun, Francisco Mendoza, Dirk Schulz, Heiko Koziolek, Andreas Burger
  • Patent number: 11916806
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for monitoring a communication system includes identifying a set of signals that need to be transmitted over the communication system for proper functioning of the control and/or surveillance; for each signal from the identified set of signals, identifying one or more resources of the communication system that are needed for transmission of this signal; obtaining information that is indicative of the operational state of the identified resources; and evaluating, from the obtained information, at least one remedial activity which, when performed on at least one resource, and/or on the control and/or surveillance, is likely to improve, and/or to restore, the reliability of the control and/or surveillance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Patent number: 11916757
    Abstract: A method for managing operation of a mobile application, the application being operable in different modes, comprises obtaining a current value of a performance indicator of a network to which a mobile computing device is attached; map, based on a rule set, the value of the performance indicator to an optimal operating mode of the application and/or to at least one action; and cause the application to switch to the optimal operating mode, initiate the action, or prompt a user to switch the application to the optimal operating mode or initiate the action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Patent number: 11790291
    Abstract: An automated maintenance schedule generation method includes: receiving planning data for designing a modular plant comprising physical modules as received planning data; selecting digital modules, correlating to respective physical modules, from a database, depending on the received planning data as respective correlating physical modules, the digital modules including maintenance information of the respective correlating physical modules; associating the selected digital modules depending on the received planning data; determining an expected maintenance need including an expected maintenance issue and/or an expected maintenance issue date for the selected physical modules depending on the received maintenance information as a determined maintenance need; and generating a maintenance schedule for the modular plant depending on the determined maintenance need.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Mario Hoernicke
  • Publication number: 20230244205
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for providing a service-based control application for an industrial plant includes automatically segmenting an initial control code for the industrial plant into a plurality of code blocks and automatically creating a plurality of services, each service implementing the functionality of one or more of the plurality of code blocks. The automatically creating of the plurality of services is carried out considering a similarity of a criticality assigned to each of the plurality of code blocks, such that code blocks having more similar criticality are more likely to be implemented within the same service.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2023
    Publication date: August 3, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Anders Trosten, Mario Hoernicke, Linus Thrybom
  • Publication number: 20230189060
    Abstract: A method for orchestrating use of a communications network for conveying a plurality of data streams transmitted by a plurality of applications includes attributing levels of importance to individual or groups of data streams, determining based at least in part on the levels of importance and on network capacity requirements of the data streams an ordered list of data streams to be curtailed or stopped in case of a shortage of bandwidth in the communications network, providing the list to a management entity that monitors available bandwidth, compares available bandwidth to a combined bandwidth requirement and, in response to determining that the available bandwidth is, or is imminent to become, less than the combined bandwidth requirement, curtails or stops data streams in the order given by the list so as to bring the combined bandwidth requirement back to or below the available bandwidth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2022
    Publication date: June 15, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Patent number: 11650574
    Abstract: A method for custom logic engineering in an industrial modular plant executing a production process includes receiving process data for the production process using at least one physical process module; determining a custom process topology by selecting, based on the received process data, at least one module type package, MTP; correlating to the at least one respective physical process module from a database, wherein the module type package is a digital representation of the respective physical process module; selecting at least one extender unit from the database based on the received process data; representing a logical function of the production process; determining connections between the extender unit(s) and the at least one MTP; setting properties of the extender unit(s) based on the received process data; and determining an extended control scheme for controlling dynamic behavior of the production process using the determined custom process topology.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Katharina Stark, Mario Hoernicke
  • Publication number: 20230138964
    Abstract: A method for managing operation of a mobile application, the application being operable in different modes, comprises obtaining a current value of a performance indicator of a network to which a mobile computing device is attached; map, based on a rule set, the value of the performance indicator to an optimal operating mode of the application and/or to at least one action; and cause the application to switch to the optimal operating mode, initiate the action, or prompt a user to switch the application to the optimal operating mode or initiate the action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2022
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Publication number: 20230127026
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for orchestrating the deterministic execution of a given workload on at least one computing platform, comprising determining a consumption of at least one computing resource and a consumption of at least one communications resource that result from executing a given workload or a part thereof; determining, from these consumptions and a given set of requirements that relate to the timing, synchronicity and/or availability of executing the given workload or part thereof, at least one performance requirement with respect to execution of the workload or part thereof; and negotiating, with a management entity of the computing platform, execution of the workload or part thereof on the computing platform according to the at least one performance requirement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2022
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Publication number: 20230125527
    Abstract: A method for securely supplying data to be used in parameterizing a device for an industrial automation system includes a first party supplying a second party with a machine-readable standardized container for the exchange of device parameters in industrial automation systems, wherein the supplying comprises writing into the container an encrypted primary security credential to be used by the device for establishing trust with the industrial automation system. In another aspect, a method for securely obtaining data to be used in parameterizing a device for an industrial automation system includes obtaining, from a first party, by a second party, a machine-readable standardized container for the exchange of device parameters in industrial automation systems, the container comprising an encrypted primary security credential to be used by the device for establishing trust with the industrial automation system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2022
    Publication date: April 27, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Soeren Finster, Sten Gruener, Thomas Gamer
  • Publication number: 20230090322
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method includes obtaining an amount of a resource and/or capability of a process module, and dividing this amount by the maximum amount of the respective resource and/or capability to obtain a theoretical utilization of the resource and/or capability as the theoretical utilization of the process module. A pool of available process modules is searched to identify candidate process modules to replace the process module. The theoretical utilization for each candidate module is determined and an optimized topology of the plant is generated by replacing the process module with a candidate process module that has a same or a higher theoretical utilization than process module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 22, 2022
    Publication date: March 23, 2023
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Mario Hoernicke, Katharina Stark, Dirk Schulz
  • Publication number: 20220415158
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for determining an operational state of an industrial plant includes acquiring alarms raised within the plant and adding them to a pool of important alarms, determining whether a physical state of the plant indicated by a first alarm causes a second alarm or meets a predetermined state-dependent condition and, if so, moving the first alarm to a pool of informative alarms; and determining the operational state of the plant and/or a corrective action for improving this operational state based on the alarms in the pool of important alarms.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Publication date: December 29, 2022
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Mario Hoernicke, Katharina Stark, Dirk Schulz
  • Publication number: 20220353200
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for monitoring a communication system includes identifying a set of signals that need to be transmitted over the communication system for proper functioning of the control and/or surveillance; for each signal from the identified set of signals, identifying one or more resources of the communication system that are needed for transmission of this signal; obtaining information that is indicative of the operational state of the identified resources; and evaluating, from the obtained information, at least one remedial activity which, when performed on at least one resource, and/or on the control and/or surveillance, is likely to improve, and/or to restore, the reliability of the control and/or surveillance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2022
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Applicant: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventor: Dirk Schulz
  • Patent number: 11379584
    Abstract: A method for detection of harmful process intent in an intent-based production process includes: providing a machine-readable production model linking an intent model, correlating to process intent, including production process functions, constraints on measurable properties on the production process functions, and/or production process function sequences required for the production process, and a process model, correlating to process knowledge comprising a production process behavior; determining a safety library of at least one safety process intent, the safety library being protected by security mechanisms to be maintained outside of regular intent-based engineering mechanisms and operation mechanisms; evaluating changes of process intent in view of potentially harmful process intent dependent on the at least one safety process intent; and providing a report of potentially harmful process intent for auditing based on the potentially harmful process intent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Raoul Jetley
  • Publication number: 20220121716
    Abstract: A method for automatically supplying or locating data over a communication network comprising: configuring a data source to provide source data over the communication network, the source data being identified by a data identifier in a domain of identifiers; receiving a machine-readable description, the machine-readable description specifying at least one predicate that must be satisfied by the data; labeling data identified by the data identifier with labels at least in part indicative of data predicates that hold true for the data identified by the data identifier or that are satisfiable for the data identified by the data identifier; searching for the data based at least in part on the machine-readable description and the labels; obtaining a solution satisfying the predicate based on the search; and supplying the solution over the communication network to a data consumer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Publication date: April 21, 2022
    Inventors: Somayeh Malakuti, Dirk Schulz, Johannes Schmitt, Sten Gruener, Ralf Gitzel, Prerna Juhlin
  • Publication number: 20220091594
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and system to generate control logic for performing industrial processes with a controller in a process plant. The method includes receiving a control narrative comprising one or more control requirements of the industrial process, and extracting a plurality of control entities and a plurality of set points, from the control narrative using one or more sets of predetermined regular expressions and one or more models. The method further includes identifying a set of inputs, outputs and control elements from the plurality of control entities using a domain dictionary, detecting a plurality of actions from the control narrative using an intent classifier, identifying a relationship between the set of inputs, outputs and control elements, the plurality of set points, and the plurality of actions, and generating based on the relationship identified the control logic for the controller to perform the process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Publication date: March 24, 2022
    Inventors: Raoul JETLEY, Divyasheel SHARMA, Abdulla Puthan PEEDIKAYIL, Dirk SCHULZ, Vadthyavath RAMU
  • Patent number: 11223696
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for interoperable communication between a server and a client, at least one of the server and client being a component of an automation system, the server being associated with a corresponding server data model, and the client being associated with a corresponding client data model, includes: obtaining a reference to the server; analyzing structure and output of the server to derive, based on at least a first technical specification, one or more element types associated with elements of the server data model; generating at least a partial mapping between the server data model and the client data model by applying a transformation rule set to the server data model, the transformation rule set defining for the one or more derived element types how instances of the one or more derived element types are to be transformed from the server data model associated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: ABB SCHWEIZ AG
    Inventors: Dirk Schulz, Thomas Goldschmidt