METHOD OF DISPLAYING THE STATUS OF AN ASSET USING AN EXTERNAL STATUS ASSET MONITOR

• US 20090134994A1
• Filed: 11/13/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB Incorporated (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Vesel, Richard W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,835,807 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/517
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0216 Human interface functionality, e.g. monitoring system providing help to the user in the selection of tests or in its configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0267 Fault communication, e.g. human machine interface [HMI]

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a system and method of monitoring assets of an enterprise using a stand-alone software system and a process automation software system. The stand-alone software system is operable to generate a web page about a condition of the asset and to transmit data items for the condition in a single data string. The data items include a status of the condition and a URL of the web page. The process automation software system includes a human system interface (HSI) and a generic asset monitor having a changeable condition table. The generic asset monitor may be modified to create a custom asset monitor specific to the asset. The custom asset monitor is operable to monitor the status of the condition and the HSI is operable to display the data items and the web page from the stand-alone software system.

Claims

1. In an enterprise having an asset, a method comprising:

gathering data about at least one condition of said asset;

determining a status of said at least one condition from said gathered data; and

for each said condition;

generating a web page containing information about said condition;

transmitting data items in a single data string, said data items including said status of said condition and a URL for said web page;

receiving said single data string;

parsing said data string; and

displaying said status.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying an icon representative of said URL;

clicking on said icon; and

displaying said web page in response to clicking on said icon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of said at least one condition is performed in a stand-alone software system for monitoring said asset, and wherein said receiving of said single data string for each said condition is performed in a process automation software system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said parsing is performed in an asset monitor software application in the process automation software system.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one condition comprises a plurality of conditions, and wherein said icons for said URLs of said conditions are displayed in a single view.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the icons are color coded to indicate severities of said associated conditions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein for each said condition, said status is a normal subcondition indicating a normal operating condition of said asset or an abnormal subcondition indicating an abnormal operating condition of said asset, and wherein for each said condition, when said status is said abnormal subcondition, said data items for said condition further comprise a possible cause of said abnormal operating condition of said asset and a suggested action to take to remedy said abnormal operating condition.