Digital Video Recording and Playback of User Displays in a Process Control System

• US 20100247082A1
• Filed: 03/31/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Caldwell, John M., Law, Gary K., Lewis, Marty J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,042,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements

Abstract

A process control system user display provides a display image containing control system information. The system may include a digital recording module including an image capture module for making a real-time digital recording of at least a portion of the display image, the image capture module buffering a terminal portion of the real-time digital recording. A storage module may store at least a portion of the real-time digital recording. A real-time digital recording may contain at least a portion of the display image, wherein, at any particular time, the real-time digital recording includes information from the control system for a predetermined duration proximate the particular time, and at least a portion of the real-time digital recording may be stored. A desired portion of the digital recording may be played back, optionally with process control system event and/or continuous history.

Claims

1. A digital recording module for a process control system having at least a first user console with a user display adapted for providing a display image containing information acquired from the process control system, the digital recording module comprising:

an image capture module for making a real-time digital recording of at least a portion of the display image provided via the user display of the first user console, said portion containing at least some of the information acquired from the process control system, wherein the image capture module is adapted to buffer a terminal portion of the real-time digital recording; and

a storage module coupled to the image capture module for storing at least a portion of the real-time digital recording.

2. The digital recording module of claim 1, wherein the image capture module and the storage module comprise software executable on the user console.

3. The digital recording module of claim 1, usable in a process control system that includes a plurality of user consoles, each user console having a respective user display adapted for providing a respective display image containing information acquired from the process control system, wherein the real-time digital recording made by the image capture module includes a recording of at least a portion of the respective display image provided via each of the plurality of user displays.

4. The digital recording module of claim 1, usable in a process control system that includes a plurality of user consoles, each user console having a respective user display adapted for providing a respective display image containing information acquired from the process control system, wherein each of the plurality of user displays includes an image capture module that makes a real-time digital recording that includes a recording of at least a portion of the respective display image provided via that user display.

5. The digital recording module of claim 1, wherein when the digital recording module receives an indication from the process control system that a predetermined event has occurred the storage module stores at least a portion of the real-time digital recording proximate the occurrence of the predetermined event.

6. The digital recording module of claim 5, wherein the predetermined event is that a process control limit has been exceeded.

7. The digital recording module of claim 5, wherein the predetermined event is that an operator modifies a process control parameter via the user console.

8. The digital recording module of claim 5, wherein the predetermined event is that an alarm condition exists in the process control system.

9. The digital recording module of claim 5, further comprising a control module adapted to receive operator input specifying at least one user-definable event, and wherein the predetermined event is that the user console detects that at least one of the user-definable events has occurred.

10. The digital recording module of claim 9, wherein the control module is further adapted to receive operator input specifying a record duration corresponding to each user-definable event, and wherein, when the digital recording module detects that one of the user-definable events has occurred, the storage module stores a portion of the real-time digital recording having the record duration corresponding to that user-definable event.

11. The digital recording module of claim 1, wherein the real-time digital recording includes audio information detected at the user console while the user display provides the display image.

12. The digital recording module of claim 1, further comprising an editing module for including at least one of audio, textual, and graphical information in the real-time digital recording.

13. The digital recording module of claim 1, further comprising a playback module adapted to provide, in response to a command from a user, a synchronized combination of at least a portion of the real-time digital recording and at least one of video, event, and continuous history.

14. The digital recording module of claim 1, further comprising a playback module adapted to receive input identifying a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module and to provide via a display the identified portion of the real-time digital recording.

15. The digital recording module of claim 14, wherein the user console has an event historian including a plurality of event records, each event record corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of events, and wherein the playback module is adapted to receive input identifying one of the plurality of events and to provide via the display a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module that corresponds to the identified one of the plurality of events.

16. The digital recording module of claim 1, wherein the storage module continually stores a terminal portion of the real-time digital recording on a first-in, first-out basis.

17. A process control system for controlling a process, comprising:

at least a first user console with a user display adapted for providing a display image containing information acquired from the process control system;

an image capture module for making a real-time digital recording of at least a portion of the display image provided via the user display of the first user console, said portion containing at least some of the information acquired from the process control system, wherein the image capture module is adapted to buffer a terminal portion of the real-time digital recording; and

a storage module coupled to the image capture module for storing at least a portion of the real-time digital recording.

18. The process control system of claim 17, wherein the image capture module and the storage module comprise software executable on the user console.

19. The process control system of claim 17, including a plurality of user consoles, wherein each user console has a respective user display adapted for providing a respective display image containing information acquired from the process control system, wherein the real-time digital recording made by the image capture module includes a recording of at least a portion of the respective display image provided via each of the plurality of user displays.

20. The process control system of claim 17, including at least one additional user console, wherein the at least one additional user console has a user display adapted for providing a display image containing information acquired from the process control system, wherein the additional user display includes an image capture module that makes a real-time digital recording that includes a recording of at least a portion of the display image provided via the user display of the additional user console.

21. The process control system of claim 17, wherein, when the digital recording module receives an indication from the process control system that a predetermined event has occurred, the storage module stores at least a portion of the real-time digital recording proximate the occurrence of the predetermined event.

22. The process control system of claim 21, wherein the predetermined event is that a process control limit has been exceeded.

23. The process control system of claim 21, wherein the predetermined event is that an operator modifies a process control parameter via the user console.

24. The process control system of claim 21, wherein the predetermined event is that an alarm condition exists in the process control system.

25. The process control system of claim 21, wherein the digital recording module further comprises a control module adapted to receive operator input specifying at least one user-definable event, and wherein the predetermined event is that the user console detects that at least one of the user-definable events has occurred.

26. The process control system of claim 25, wherein the control module is further adapted to receive operator input specifying a record duration corresponding to each user-definable event, and wherein, when the digital recording module detects that one of the user-definable events has occurred, the storage module stores a portion of the real-time digital recording having the record duration corresponding to that user-definable event.

27. The process control system of claim 17, wherein the real-time digital recording includes audio information detected at the user console while the user display provides the display image.

28. The process control system of claim 17, further comprising an editing module for including at least one of audio, textual, and graphical information in the real-time digital recording.

29. The process control system of claim 17, further comprising a playback module adapted to provide, in response to a command from a user, a synchronized combination of at least a portion of the real-time digital recording and at least one of video, event, and continuous history.

30. The process control system of claim 17, further comprising a playback module adapted to receive input identifying a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module and to provide via a display the identified portion of the real-time digital recording.

31. The process control system of claim 30, wherein the user console has an event historian including a plurality of event records, each event record corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of events, and wherein the playback module is adapted to receive input identifying one of the plurality of events and to provide via the display a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module that corresponds to the identified one of the plurality of events.

32. The process control system of claim 17, wherein the storage module continually stores a terminal portion of the real-time digital recording on a first-in, first-out basis.

33. A method of operating a process control system having at least a first user console with a user display adapted for providing a display image containing information acquired from the process control system, the method comprising the steps of:

making a real-time digital recording of at least a portion of the display image provided via the user display of the first user console, said portion containing at least some of the information acquired from the process control system, wherein at any particular time the real-time digital recording includes the information acquired from the process control system for a predetermined duration prior to the particular time; and

storing at least a portion of the real-time digital recording.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the process control system includes at least a second user console with a user display adapted for providing a second display image containing information acquired from the process control system, the method further comprising the steps of making a real-time digital recording of at least a portion of the second display image and storing at least a portion of the real-time digital recording of the second display image.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein, when an indication is received from the process control system that a predetermined event has occurred, at least a portion of the real-time digital recording proximate the predetermined event is stored.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the predetermined event is that a process control limit has been exceeded.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the predetermined event is that an operator modifies a process control parameter via the user console.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein the predetermined event is that an alarm condition exists in the process control system.

39. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of receiving operator input specifying at least one user-definable event, and wherein the predetermined event is that the user console detects that at least one of the user-definable events has occurred.

40. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of including in the real-time digital recording audio information detected at the user console while the user display provides the display image.

41. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of including at least one of audio, textual, and graphical information in the real-time digital recording.

42. The method of claim 33, further comprising the step of providing, in response to a command from a user, a synchronized combination of at least a portion of the real-time digital recording and at least one of video, event, and continuous history.

43. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of receiving input identifying a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module and providing via a display the identified portion of the real-time digital recording.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising the steps of providing an event historian including a plurality of event records, each event record corresponding to a respective one of a plurality of events;

receiving input identifying one of the plurality of events; and

providing via the display a portion of the real-time digital recording stored by the storage module that corresponds to the identified one of the plurality of events.

45. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of storing the real-time digital recording includes the step of continually storing a terminal portion of the digital recording on a first-in, first-out basis.