Conveyor visualization system and method

• US 10,147,064 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2013
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomsen, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Scheunemann, Richard N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Knox, Tyler W
• Application Number:
  US14/099,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32357 Simulation of material handling, flexible conveyor system fcs
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis

Abstract

Certain embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for representing components of an industrial system with a visualization tool, in accordance with a physical layout of the industrial system. Other embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for simulating the representations of the components of the industrial system with a simulation engine. In particular, in such embodiments, the utilization of these representations is optimized through an operator interface, and graphical indicia of the utilization are displayed. In addition, the graphical indicia may further comprise a representation of the normalized utilization for each representation. In yet other embodiments, the present invention provides techniques for auto-calibrating the representations of the components of the industrial system based on information received during operation of the industrial system.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

displaying, via a processor, a plurality of visualizations representing a plurality of machine components of an industrial system on a display device;

displaying, via the processor, at least one visualization representing at least one conveyor section disposed between a portion of the plurality of machine components on the display device, wherein the at least one visualization comprises one or more segments of the at least one conveyor section that correspond to one or more locations along the at least one conveyor section, and wherein the one or more segments are configured to represent a load on the at least one conveyor section at the one or more locations;

determining, via the processor, an expected utilization of the at least one conveyor section over a period of time;

generating at least one modified visualization based on the at least one visualization and the expected utilization of the at least one conveyor section over the period of time;

receiving, via the processor, data indicative of an actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section during operation of the industrial system, wherein the data is received from at least one sensor configured to monitor the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section, and wherein the actual utilization comprises a percentage of available capacity of the at least one conveyor section;

modifying, via the processor, the at least one modified visualization based on the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section, wherein the at least one modified visualization comprises a shading depicted on the one or more segments, wherein an amount of the shading of the one or more segments represents at least the percentage of available capacity of the at least one conveyor section at a respective location of the one or more locations; and

adjusting an operation of the at least one conveyor section based on the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of visualizations representing the plurality of machine components are oriented in accordance with a physical layout of the industrial system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more segments depicted in the at least one visualization is generally representative of a physical size and orientation of the at least one conveyor section in the industrial system.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising displaying, via the processor, graphical indicia indicative of the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one modified visualization is modified by highlighting the one or more segments based on the actual utilization.

6. The method of claim 4, comprising representing an actual utilization for each segment of the one or more segments.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the one or more segments comprises an equal size.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the graphical indicia comprise a number of manufactured articles at locations along the at least one conveyor section.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising normalizing, via the processor, the actual utilization, and displaying graphical indicia comprising a representation of the normalized utilization.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed during operation of the industrial system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is sensor data generated during operation of the industrial system, and wherein the at least one modified visualization is modified based upon the sensor data.

12. An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

executing computer code via a processor to;

display a plurality of visualizations representing a plurality of machine components of an industrial system on a display device;

display at least one visualization representing at least one conveyor section disposed between a portion of the plurality of machine components on the display device, wherein the at least one visualization comprises a plurality of segments that correspond to a plurality of locations along the at least one conveyor section, and wherein each of the plurality of segments represents a respective load at the plurality of locations;

determine an expected utilization of the at least one conveyor section over a period of time;

generate at least one modified visualization based on the at least one visualization and the expected utilization of the at least one conveyor section over the period of time;

receive data indicative of an actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section during operation of the industrial system, wherein the data is received from at least one sensor configured to monitor the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section, and wherein the actual utilization comprises a percentage of available capacity of the at least one conveyor section;

normalize the data based upon a known capacity of the at least one conveyor section;

modify the at least one modified visualization based on the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section, wherein the at least one modified visualization comprises a shading depicted on at least one of the plurality of segments, wherein the shading is a representation of at least the percentage of available capacity of a respective location of the plurality of locations; and

adjusting an operation of the at least one conveyor section based on the actual utilization of the at least one conveyor section.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one modified visualization is modified by highlighting the at least one of the plurality of segments based on the actual utilization.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising representing an actual utilization for each segment of the plurality of segments via a graphical indicator.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of segments is equally sized.

16. An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

executing computer code via a processor to;

display a plurality of visualizations representing a plurality of machine components of an industrial system on a display device;

display at least one visualization representing a conveyor section disposed between at least two of the plurality of machine components on the display device, wherein the at least one visualization comprises one or more segments of the conveyor section that correspond to one or more locations along the conveyor section, and wherein the one or more segments are configured to represent a load on the conveyor section at the one or more locations;

receive data indicative of an actual utilization of the conveyor section over a first period of time, wherein the received data is sensor data generated by one or more sensors during operation of the industrial system, and wherein the actual utilization comprises a percentage of available capacity of the conveyor section;

generate at least one modified visualization based on the at least one visualization and the actual utilization of the conveyor section over the first period of time, wherein the at least one modified visualization comprises a shading depicted on the one or more segments, wherein an amount of the shading of the one or more segments represents at least the percentage of available capacity of the conveyor section at a respective location of the one or more locations;

generate at least one simulated visualization based on an expected utilization of the conveyor section over a second period of time and the actual utilization; and

display the at least one simulated visualization on the display device; and

adjust an operation of the conveyor section based on the actual utilization of the conveyor section.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising normalizing the data based upon a known capacity of the conveyor section, and wherein the at least one simulated visualization is generated based on the normalized utilization.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one modified visualization is generated by highlighting the one or more segments based on the actual utilization.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising representing an actual utilization for each segment of the one or more segments.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the one or more segments comprises an equal size.

21. An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

during a design phase, executing computer code via a processor to;

display a plurality of visualizations comprising a plurality of objects representing at least two machine components of an industrial system on a display device;

display at least one visualization representing a utilization of a conveyor section disposed between the at least two machine components on the display device, wherein the at least one visualization comprises a plurality of segments that correspond to a plurality of locations along the conveyor section, and wherein each of the plurality of segments represents a respective load at the plurality of locations; and

store a configuration file based on the at least one visualization and the data; and

during a commissioning phase, executing computer code via the processor to;

receive data representative of an actual utilization of the conveyor section from one or more sensors during operation of the industrial system, wherein the actual utilization comprises a percentage of available capacity of the conveyor section;

update the at least one visualization based on the actual utilization and the stored configuration file, wherein the at least one updated visualization comprises a shading depicted on at least one of the plurality of segments, wherein the shading is a representation of at least the percentage of available capacity of a respective location of the plurality of locations; and

adjust an operation of the conveyor section based on the actual utilization of the conveyor section.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one updated visualization is displayed via a human machine interface.

23. An industrial system visualization method, comprising:

receiving a stored file created during a design phase comprising computer code representing a plurality of machine components of an industrial system and at least one conveyor section between the plurality of machine components; and

during a commissioning phase, programming an industrial control or monitoring component based upon the stored file to;

display representations of the plurality of machine components and the conveyor section on a display device, wherein the representation of the conveyer section comprises a plurality of segments that correspond to a plurality of locations along the conveyor section, and wherein the plurality of segments represents a load at the plurality of locations;

receive data representative of utilization of the conveyor section from one or more sensors during operation of the industrial system, wherein the utilization comprises a percentage of available capacity of the conveyor section; and

display updated representations of the utilization of the conveyor section based on the data, wherein the updated representations comprise a shading depicted on at least one of the plurality of segments, wherein the shading is a representation of at least the percentage of available capacity of a respective location of the plurality of locations; and

adjust an operation of the conveyor section based on the utilization of the conveyor section.