Generating an integrated graphic display of the safety status of a complex process plant
First Claim
1. A method of generating on a visual display device a real time display indicative of the safety status of a complex process plant at the current operating level as represented by the status of selected operating parameters, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating status signals representative of the value of said selected operating parameters measured on a real time basis;
generating on a real time basis reference signals for each of said operating parameters representative of the target signal level for each of said status signals for the current operating level of the plant;
generating a limit for each parameter representative of a limiting value for each of said status signals,normalizing each status signal to its associated reference signal in such a manner that the normalized status signal has a first fixed, preselected magnitude when the status signal equals the associated reference signal, has a second fixed magnitude when the status signal equals the associated limit, and has a magnitude determined by a variable scale, which is a function of the magnitude of the reference signal and the limit when the magnitude of the status signal is between the magnitude of the reference signal, and that of the limit, andgenerating from said normalized status signals a display on the visual display device which emanates from a common origin with respective sectors of said display each being defined by the magnitude of at least one normalized status signal in such a manner that with all of the displayed operating parameters measured at the target values, all of the respective sectors of the display will exhibit an equal relationship to said origin.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The real time actual and reference values of parameters pertinent to the key safety concerns of a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant are used to generate an integrated graphic display representative of the plant safety status. This display is in the form of a polygon with the distances of the vertices from a common origin determined by the actual value of the selected parameters normalized such that the polygon is regular whenever the actual value of each parameter equals its reference value despite changes in the reference value with operating conditions, and is an irregular polygon which visually indicates deviations from normal otherwise. The values of parameters represented in analog form are dynamically scaled between the reference value and high and low limits which are displayed as tic marks at fixed distances along spokes radiating from the common origin and passing through the vertices. Multiple, related binary signals are displayed on a single spoke by drawing the associated vertice at the reference value when none of the represented conditions exist and at the high limit when any such condition is detected. A regular polygon fixed at the reference values aids the operator in detecting small deviations from normal and in gauging the magnitude of the deviation. One set of parameters is selected for generating the display when the plant is at power and a second set reflecting wide range readings is used the remainder of the time such as following a reactor trip. If the quality of the status, reference or limit signals associated with a particular vertice is "bad", the sides of the polygon emanating from that vertice are not drawn to appraise the operator of this condition.
116 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of generating on a visual display device a real time display indicative of the safety status of a complex process plant at the current operating level as represented by the status of selected operating parameters, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status signals representative of the value of said selected operating parameters measured on a real time basis; generating on a real time basis reference signals for each of said operating parameters representative of the target signal level for each of said status signals for the current operating level of the plant; generating a limit for each parameter representative of a limiting value for each of said status signals, normalizing each status signal to its associated reference signal in such a manner that the normalized status signal has a first fixed, preselected magnitude when the status signal equals the associated reference signal, has a second fixed magnitude when the status signal equals the associated limit, and has a magnitude determined by a variable scale, which is a function of the magnitude of the reference signal and the limit when the magnitude of the status signal is between the magnitude of the reference signal, and that of the limit, and generating from said normalized status signals a display on the visual display device which emanates from a common origin with respective sectors of said display each being defined by the magnitude of at least one normalized status signal in such a manner that with all of the displayed operating parameters measured at the target values, all of the respective sectors of the display will exhibit an equal relationship to said origin. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of generating on a visual display device a real time display indicative of the safety status of a nuclear power plant at the current operating level as represented by the status of selected operating parameters, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status signals representative of the value of said selected operating parameters measured on a real time basis, generating on a real time basis reference signals for each of said operating parameters representative of the target signal level for each of said status signals for the current operating level of the nuclear power plant, at least some of which real time reference signals vary in magnitude with changes in said operating level, generating on a real time basis limit signals for each parameter signal representative of a limiting value for each status signal for the current operating level of the nuclear plant, at least some of which limit signals may vary in magnitude with changes in the operating level, normalizing each status signal to its associated reference signal in such a manner that the normalized status signal has a first fixed, preselected magnitude when the status signal equals the associated reference signal regardless of the magnitude of the reference signal and has a second fixed magnitude when the magnitude of the status signal equals the magnitude of the limit signal, regardless of the magnitude of the limit signal, and generating from said normalized status signals a display on the visual display device in the form of a polygon with the magnitude of at least one of the normalized status signals determining the distance of each vertice from a common origin, and with all of the vertices being displayed at a first fixed distance from the common origin to form a regular polygon when all of the selected operating parameters are at the target values, a vertice being displayed at a second fixed distance from the common origin when the corresponding parameter is at its limit value, and a vertice being displayed between the first and second fixed distances on a variable scaled determined by the difference between the current values of the associated reference signal and limit signal when the value of the parameter is between the reference and limit value. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Apparatus for generating a display representing the real time safety status of a nuclear power plant at the current operating level as represented by the status of selected operating parameters comprising;
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means for measuring selected parameters on a real time basis and for generating status signals representative thereof; means for generating reference signals representative of a target value for each of the status signals at the current operating value of the nuclear plant; means for generating a limit signal for each parameter representative of a limiting value for each of said status signals; processing means for normalizing each status signal to its associated reference signal on a fractional scale defined by the ratio of the difference between the current magnitudes of the status signal and reference signal to the difference between the current magnitudes of the reference signal and the limit signal in such a manner that the normalized status signal has a first fixed preselected magnitude when the status signal equals the magnitude of the reference signal regardless of the magnitude of the reference signal, and has a second fixed magnitude when the magnitude of the status signal equals the magnitude of the limit signal, regardless of the magnitude of the limit signal; and means for generating from said normalized status signals a display on a visual display device in the form of a polygon with the distance of each vertice of the polygon from a common origin being determined by the magnitude of a normalized status signal with all of the vertices being at a first fixed distance from the common origin to form a regular polygon when all of the selected operating paramters are at the target values, with a vertice being at a second fixed distance from the origin when the normalized status signal equals the limit signal, and with a vertice being displayed between said first and second fixed distances on said fractional scale when the status signal is between the reference signal and the limit signal. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
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Specification