Subscription-based services using industrial blockchains

Abstract

Blockchain-enabled industrial devices and associated systems are configured to support the use of industrial blockchains in connection with product and machine tracking, subscription-based industrial services, device lifecycle management, and other functions. Collections of industrial devices can collectively serve as an industrial blockchain system, with multiple such systems within a supply chain yielding an industrial blockchain ecosystem. This architecture can create distributed, decentralized, tamper-proof records of manufacturing statistics for a product, a product's history within the larger supply chain, industrial asset usage histories that can be leveraged in connection with lifecycle management, machine usage history for use in connection with subscription-based machine operation, and other such information. The blockchain-enabled industrial devices can be configured to generate multiple versions of a product or machine's blockchain having respective different access permissions, allowing public and private industrial data to be segregated between public and private industrial blockchains.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An industrial device, comprising:
 a processor, operatively coupled to a memory, that executes executable components stored on the memory, the executable components comprising:
 an execution engine configured to execute an industrial control program that facilitates monitoring and control of an industrial process managed by a manufacturing entity; 
 a blockchain engine configured to:
 receive, from a recipe provider, an industrial blockchain comprising recipe data that defines at least one of parameters or executable instructions usable by the industrial control program to control the industrial process to facilitate manufacture a specified product; 
 verify an authenticity of the recipe data; 
 verify that the industrial device is authorized to execute the recipe data; and 
 contingent on verification of the authenticity of the recipe data and verification that the industrial device is authorized to execute the recipe data, permit the execution engine to execute the industrial control program using the recipe data. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein the recipe data is embedded in the industrial blockchain as encrypted recipe data, and the blockchain engine is further configured to decrypt the recipe data using a private key associate with the industrial device. 
     
     
         3 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the industrial blockchain further comprises contract data that defines an expiration criterion that limits an amount of the product to be manufactured by the manufacturing entity, and   the blockchain engine is further configured to prevent execution of the recipe data by the execution engine in response to a determination that the expiration criterion has been satisfied.   
     
     
         4 . The industrial device of  claim 3 , wherein the expiration criterion is at least one of a specified number of units of the product to be manufactured by the manufacturing entity, an expiratory date, or consumption of a specified amount of power by the industrial process while manufacturing the product. 
     
     
         5 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein the recipe provider is an original equipment manufacturer, and the industrial control program facilitates monitoring and control of a machine built by the original equipment manufacturer for manufacture of the product. 
     
     
         6 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein the blockchain engine is further configured to generate orders for ingredients identified by the recipe data that are obfuscated to the manufacturing entity. 
     
     
         7 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the recipe data further defines a location at which the recipe data is permitted to execute, and   the blockchain engine is further configured to permit the execution engine to execute the industrial control program using the recipe data contingent on a determination that the industrial device is at the location.   
     
     
         8 . The industrial device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the blockchain engine is further configured to record, in the industrial blockchain, a public ledger of production statistics associated with the manufacture of the specified product using the recipe data, and   the public ledger is accessible to the manufacturing entity and the recipe provider.   
     
     
         9 . The industrial device of  claim 8 , wherein the production statistics comprise at least one of a number of units of the product that have been produced using the recipe data or an elapsed runtime of the industrial control program using the recipe data. 
     
     
         10 . The industrial device of  claim 8 , wherein
 the blockchain engine is further configured to record, in the industrial blockchain, a private ledger of recipe statistics associated with execution of the recipe data, and   the private ledger is accessible to the manufacturing entity and is inaccessible to the recipe provider.   
     
     
         11 . The industrial device of  claim 10 , wherein the recipe statistics comprise at least one of identities of plant personnel who operated a machine associated with the industrial process, runtime statistics for the machine, downtime statistics for the machine, product defect statistics, or numbers of batches of different recipes executed by the industrial control program. 
     
     
         12 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, by an industrial controller comprising a processor, an industrial blockchain that encodes recipe data from a recipe provider, the recipe data defining at least one of parameters or executable instructions usable by an industrial control program to control an industrial process managed by a manufacturing entity to facilitate manufacture a specified product;   verifying, by the industrial controller, an authenticity of the recipe data;   verifying, by the industrial controller, that the industrial controller is authorized to execute the recipe data; and   in response to the verifying of the authenticity and the verifying that the industrial controller is authorized to execute the recipe data, executing, by the industrial controller, the industrial control program using the recipe data.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein
 the recipe data is embedded in the industrial blockchain as encrypted recipe data, and   the method further comprises:
 decrypting, by the industrial controller, the recipe data using a private key associate with the industrial controller. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein
 the industrial blockchain further comprises contract data that defines an expiration criterion that limits an amount of the product to be manufactured by the manufacturing entity, and   the method further comprises preventing, by the industrial controller, execution of the recipe data in response to determining that the expiration criterion has been satisfied.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the expiration criterion is at least one of a specified number of units of the product to be manufactured by the manufacturing entity, an expiratory date, or consumption of a specified amount of power by the industrial process while manufacturing the product. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein
 the recipe data further defines a location at which the recipe data is permitted to execute, and   the method further comprises executing, by the industrial controller, the industrial control program using the recipe data contingent on a determination that the industrial device is at the location.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 recording, by the industrial controller in the industrial blockchain, a public ledger of production statistics associated with the manufacture of the specified product using the recipe data,   wherein the public ledger is accessible to the manufacturing entity and the recipe provider.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 recording, by the industrial controller in the industrial blockchain, a private ledger of recipe statistics associated with execution of the recipe data,   wherein the private ledger is accessible to the manufacturing entity and is inaccessible to the recipe provider.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, in response to execution, cause an industrial device comprising a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving an industrial blockchain that encodes recipe data from a recipe provider, wherein the recipe data defines at least one of parameters or executable instructions usable by an industrial control program to control an industrial process managed by a manufacturing entity to facilitate manufacture a specified product;   verifying that the recipe data is digitally signed by the recipe provider;   verifying that the industrial device is authorized to execute the recipe data; and   in response to the verifying that the recipe data is digitally signed and the verifying that the industrial device is authorized to execute the recipe data, executing the industrial control program using the recipe data.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein
 the industrial blockchain further comprises contract data that defines an expiration criterion that limits an amount of the product to be manufactured by the manufacturing entity, and   the operations further comprise preventing execution of the recipe data on the industrial device in response to determining that the expiration criterion has been satisfied.