Patents by Inventor Rob A. Entzminger

Rob A. Entzminger 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: 12379919
    Abstract: A method may include receiving an indication of an available updated container. The method may also involve identifying one or more compute surfaces comprising a first container and a second container that correspond to the available container, such that the first container may control one or more operations of an operational technology (OT) device. The method may also include scheduling a deployment of the updated container to replace the second container, receiving expected output data associated with a digital model associated with the OT device, and scheduling a switchover of control of the one or more operations to the second container based on the expected output data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2024
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2025
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Nathaniel S. Sandler, Rob A Entzminger, David C. Mazur, Bruce T. McCleave, Jr., Jonathan Alan Mills, Patrick E. Ozimek, Tim S. Biernat, Michael J. Anthony, Chris Softley
  • Patent number: 12222686
    Abstract: An industrial automation device includes first processing circuitry configured to perform a first set of operations associated with controlling the industrial automation device or one or more industrial automation devices communicatively coupled to the industrial automation device. The industrial automation device includes input/output circuitry communicatively couplable to an electronic device having second processing circuitry that is configured to execute computer-readable instructions to execute a software container and receive, in the software container, data from the industrial automation device, the one or more industrial automation devices, or both. The second processing circuitry executes the computer-readable instructions to perform, using the software container, a second set of operations associated with controlling the industrial automation device or the one or more industrial automation devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Roberto S. Marques, Bruce T. McCleave, Jr.
  • Publication number: 20250036109
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein may involve an industrial network device that performs an operation based on symbolic data received via an input terminal. The systems and methods may involve processing circuitry coupled via an output terminal to the input terminal. The processing circuitry may provide a virtualized control system communicatively coupled to the industrial network device via the output terminal, receive an event notification from a first container provided by one or more computing devices external to the industrial automation system, operate the virtualized control system to expose the event notification via a symbolic common industrial protocol (CIP) namespace to provide the symbolic data to the input terminal based on the event notification, and transmit the symbolic data corresponding to the virtualized control system via the one or more input terminals to the industrial network device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2023
    Publication date: January 30, 2025
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Mills, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Eugene Mourzine, David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger
  • Publication number: 20250036103
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein may involve an industrial control system that performs one or more operations in association with an industrial automation system based on data received via one or more of its input terminals. Processing circuitry may provide a virtualized industrial automation device communicatively coupled to the industrial control system via one or more output terminals. The processing circuitry may receive an event notification from a first container provided by one or more computing devices external to the industrial automation system, where the first container may perform a monitoring operation and generate the event notification based on the monitoring operation. The processing circuitry may operate the virtualized industrial automation device to expose the event notification to the one or more input terminals and may transmit the data via the one or more input terminals to the industrial control system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2023
    Publication date: January 30, 2025
    Inventors: Jonathan A. Mills, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Eugene Mourzine, David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger
  • Patent number: 12147217
    Abstract: An industrial automation device includes processing circuitry and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that includes instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry of the industrial automation device, cause the processing circuitry to execute a software container and receive, at the software container, data from one or more industrial automation devices communicatively coupled to the industrial automation device. The instructions, when executed, also cause the processor to determine, using the software container, one or more control operations for the industrial automation device or the one or more industrial automation devices based on the data. Furthermore, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to cause the industrial automation device to perform the one or more control operations or send the one or more control operations to the one or more industrial automation devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Jonathan Alan Mills
  • Patent number: 12099345
    Abstract: Embodiments of this present disclosure may include systems that perform operations including receiving a first symbol instance from an industrial automation device. The first template object instance may characterize a dataset accessible to the industrial automation device. Symbol object instances may inherit a categorization with respect to categories associated with the industrial automation device including an identity, a state, a runtime status, a maintenance status, sustainability information, or any combination thereof. The operations may include identifying a type of the industrial automation device based on the first symbol instance and generating template data based on the type of the industrial automation device and the first symbol instance. The template data may include values associated with the dataset and the categories associated with the first symbol instance. The operations may also include sending a control signal to the industrial automation device based on the template data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Jonathan Alan Mills, Todd A. Wiese, Rob A. Entzminger, Roberto S. Marques
  • Patent number: 12088554
    Abstract: A method may include receiving, via a secure deployment management (SDM) system, data associated with one or more operations of an industrial device from a secure deployment management (SDM) node associated with the industrial device. The data is received via a secure communication channel established by the SDM system with the SDM node and security protocols. The method also includes sending the data to a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) container component may perform tasks in conjunction with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) process, such that the CMMS container component may communicate with the CMMS process via a first firewall through which the SDM system is incapable of communicating. The SDM system may enable the data associated with the operations to communicate with the SDM node through a second firewall between the SDM system and the SDM node, the second firewall being different from the first firewall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Jonathan Alan Mills, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Todd A. Wiese
  • Patent number: 12085920
    Abstract: Systems and methods described herein may relate to a system that includes one or more industrial devices that perform one or more operations within an industrial automation system. One or more industrial devices may include a compute surface able to perform one or more software tasks. The system may include a processor that determines a trigger event has occurred. The processor may determine additional data and a target device based on the trigger event, where the processor may be located on a different hierarchical level as compared to the target device. The processor may determine a container to be deployed to the target device based on the container generating the additional data when deployed on the target device. The processor may deploy the container to the target device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A Entzminger, Patrick E. Ozimek, Jonathan Alan Mills, Michael J. Anthony
  • Patent number: 12085486
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive, via the processor, a characteristic of data to be collected from an operational technology (OT) device disposed within an OT network associated with an industrial automation system configured to perform an industrial automation process, determine, via the processor, that the characteristic exceeds a threshold value, and deploy, via the processor, in response to determining that the characteristic exceeds the threshold value, a container to a compute surface within the OT network that is disposed within a threshold distance of the OT device. The container is configured to receive the data from the OT device and process the received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Nathaniel S. Sandler, Rob A. Entzminger, Chris Softley, Patrick E. Ozimek, Michael J. Anthony
  • Patent number: 12088553
    Abstract: A method may include receiving, via a secure deployment management (SDM) system, data associated with operations of an industrial device from a SDM node associated with the industrial device. The data is received via a secure communication channel established by the SDM system with the SDM node and security protocols. The SDM node is communicatively coupled with a machine learning system for sending and receiving data. The machine learning system may generate an updated machine learning model based on the data and a machine learning model representative of expected outputs associated with the operations of the industrial device and generate updated configuration data based on the updated machine learning model. The method may then include receiving the updated configuration data from the SDM node via the secure communication channel and sending the updated configuration data to the industrial device without performing security operations on the updated configuration data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Rob A. Entzminger, David C. Mazur, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Todd A. Wiese, Jonathan Alan Mills
  • Patent number: 12085921
    Abstract: A method may include receiving, via a secure deployment management (SDM) system, a notification indicative of a change in configuration data associated with an industrial device from a secure deployment management (SDM) node associated with the industrial device. The notification is received via a secure communication channel established by the SDM system with the SDM node and one or more security protocols. The method also includes retrieving, via the SDM system, the configuration data associated with the industrial device from a data source in response to receiving the notification and sending, via the SDM system, the configuration data to the SDM node via the secure communication channel. The industrial device may receive the configuration data from the SDM node without performing one or more security operations on the configuration data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Jonathan Alan Mills, Todd A. Wiese
  • Patent number: 12081565
    Abstract: A method may include receiving, via a secure deployment management (SDM) system, configuration data associated with an industrial device, identifying, via the SDM system, a presence of a secure deployment management (SDM) node associated with the industrial device, and establishing, via the SDM system, a secure communication channel between the SDM system and the SDM node using one or more security protocols. The method may also involve sending, via the SDM system, the configuration data to the industrial device via the secure communication channel. The industrial device may receive the configuration data without performing one or more security operations on the configuration data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Todd A. Wiese, Jonathan Alan Mills, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Rob A. Entzminger
  • Patent number: 12072688
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to receive, from an edge device of an industrial automation system, data indicative of a type of one or more devices in the industrial automation system, one or more types of data generated by the one or more devices, one or more components included in the one or more devices, firmware of the one or more devices, or any combination thereof. When executed, the instructions also cause the processing circuitry to identify, based on the received data, either a firmware update for the industrial automation system or, from a container repository, a container that is implementable on the edge device. Additionally, when executed, the instructions cause the processing circuitry to cause a container image for the container or firmware update for the firmware to be sent to the edge device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger
  • Patent number: 12066806
    Abstract: An industrial automation device includes processing circuitry and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to execute a software container and receive, at the software container, a first set of data having raw data from one or more industrial automation devices communicatively coupled to the industrial automation device. When executed, the instructions also cause the processing circuitry to pre-process the first set of data using the software container to generate a second set of data and send the second set of data to a second industrial automation device communicatively coupled to the first industrial automation device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Jonathan Alan Mills
  • Patent number: 12061462
    Abstract: Embodiments of this present disclosure may include systems that perform operations including receiving a request to access data of an industrial automation device from a requesting device and identifying the industrial automation device based on the request. The operations may include sending a query for template data to the industrial automation device based on the request and symbolic data operations. The template data may include one or more instantaneous values associated with the industrial automation device. The operations may include sending the template data to the requesting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Jonathan Alan Mills, Rob A. Entzminger, Todd A Wiese, Bruce T. McCleave, Jr., Michael J. Anthony
  • Publication number: 20240255929
    Abstract: A method may involve receiving, via at least one processor, a request from an industrial component operating in an industrial automation system, such that the request may include an indication of a software function. The method may then involve querying a container registry having a plurality of container images based on the software function, identifying at least one container image of the plurality of container images that corresponds to the software function, sending an indication of the at least one container image to the industrial component, and receiving a selection of the at least one container image from the industrial component. The method may also involve retrieving the at least one container image from the container registry and sending the at least one container image to the industrial component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2024
    Publication date: August 1, 2024
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Ryan Coon, Bruce T. McCleave, JR., James M. Teal
  • Patent number: 12013687
    Abstract: An industrial automation system is described including multiple devices, a master container node, a container node, and a control system. The devices may connect to an external application programming interface (API) of an external device (e.g., an electric power utility company), receive an API call from the external API indicative of a time window for monitoring electrical power consumption of the devices by the external API, and output one or more information technology (IT) commands in response to receiving the API call. The container node may be coupled to the master container node, wherein the container node may map the IT commands to operation technology (OT) commands. The control system may be coupled to the container node and the plurality of devices. The control system may implement the OT commands on the devices to perform one or more operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2023
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Dave C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Jonathan A. Mills
  • Patent number: 12001196
    Abstract: Embodiments of this present disclosure may include systems that perform operations including receiving a first symbol instance from an industrial automation device. The first template object instance may characterize a dataset accessible to the industrial automation device. Symbol object instances may inherit a categorization with respect to categories associated with the industrial automation device including an identity, a state, a runtime status, a maintenance status, sustainability information, or any combination thereof. The operations may include receiving a first input corresponding to the first symbol object instance. The first input may include an indication of a change to the original symbolic definition. The operations may include identifying a type of the industrial automation device based on the first symbol object instance and generating enhanced template data based on the type of the industrial automation device, the first input, and the first symbol object instance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Rob A. Entzminger, Jonathan Alan Mills, Bruce T. McCleave, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11994843
    Abstract: Embodiments of this present disclosure may include systems that perform operations including receiving a request to access data associated with an industrial automation device from a requesting device and identifying the industrial automation device based on the request. The operations may include sending a query for template data to the industrial automation device based on the request and receiving the template data. The operations may include determining a data structure based on the requesting device and generating the data structure based on the template data and a mapping between the data structure and the template data. The operations may additionally include sending the data structure to the requesting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jonathan Alan Mills, Todd A. Wiese, Rob A. Entzminger, David C. Mazur, Roberto S. Marques, Marius G. Chis, Ryan Coon, Robert J. Miklosovic
  • Publication number: 20240163295
    Abstract: A method may include receiving, via a secure deployment management (SDM) system, configuration data associated with an industrial device, identifying, via the SDM system, a presence of a secure deployment management (SDM) node associated with the industrial device, and establishing, via the SDM system, a secure communication channel between the SDM system and the SDM node using one or more security protocols. The method may also involve sending, via the SDM system, the configuration data to the industrial device via the secure communication channel. The industrial device may receive the configuration data without performing one or more security operations on the configuration data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2023
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Inventors: David C. Mazur, Todd A. WIESE, Jonathan Alan Mills, Nathaniel S. Sandler, Rob A. Entzminger