Expert advice display processing system

• US 5,167,010 A
• Filed: 08/03/1989
• Issued: 11/24/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Woods, David D., Roth, Emilie M., Elm, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): MacDonald, Allen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davis, George
• Application Number:
  US07/389,386
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• Field of Search: 364/513, 364/188, 364/138, 364/900, 395/50, 395/915
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/028 using expert systems only
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0267 Fault communication, e.g. human machine interface [HMI]
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 17/00 Monitoring; Testing measuring in general G01; Maintaining
• CPC Class Codes: G21D 3/001 Computer implemented control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/00 Energy generation of nuclear origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/30 Nuclear fission reactors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/915 Power plant

Abstract

The present invention provides expert advice produced by an expert system 16 as a graphic display that indicates to the user a range 64 in which an actual value 62 of a parameter should be kept for safe or efficient operation of the process being monitored. The operator adjusts control points to keep the actual value indicator 62 within the range 64. As the process being monitored moves toward an out-of-normal state, an alarm management system 18 reinforces the graphic advice with general and then more detailed alarm messages that are displayed in priority order in goal and process message slots 114-122. Recommendations, in the form of an action script, for particular actions, based on expert system action indications, are also presented as the system state becomes more unacceptable. The invention also displays an historical perspective of the process parameters being monitored and, through a prediction module 20, provides a prediction of the future state of the process and process parameters.

Claims

1. A display system for a nuclear power plant, comprising:

an expert system for providing expert advice; and

a display comprising;

a dynamic range graphic representing the expert advice concerning a parameter of a process of the nuclear power plant;

an actual value indicator positioned adjacent said dynamic range graphic and indicating an actual value of the parameter;

an alarm message in association with said dynamic range graphic;

a prediction graphic adjacent to said actual value indicator graphically depicting a prediction for the parameter;

a parameter history graphic adjacent to said dynamic range graphic graphically depicting historic values of the parameter; and

an action recommendation message in association with said dynamic range graphic temporally ordering the expert advice.

2. An apparatus for providing expert advice in a nuclear power plant, comprising:

expert system advice means for producing expert system advice as dynamic range values for a parameter and a recommended action providing temporal ordering of the expert advice for changing a parameter value;

state prediction means for producing a prediction of future values of the parameter;

alarm management means for producing an alarm message when an actual value of a parameter is outside a range of the range values, producing a threshold prediction message when one of the future values exceeds a predetermined threshold and producing an out of range prediction message when one of the future values is outside the range; and

display processing means for providing a display graphically representing the dynamic range values visually adjacent to the actual value, graphically presenting the prediction, graphically presenting a history of the actual value and displaying the alarm and predication messages.

3. A method of producing an expert advice display for a nuclear power plant, comprising the steps of:

(a) producing, using an expert system, expert advice as dynamic range values defining a range of operation for a parameter and an action recommendation temporally ordering the expert advice for changing the parameter;

(b) producing an alarm message when an actual value of the parameter is outside the range;

(c) producing a prediction of future values of the parameter;

(d) comparing the prediction to a threshold and producing a threshold crossing prediction message when the prediction crosses the threshold;

(e) comparing the prediction to the range and producing an out of range prediction when the prediction is outside the range;

(f) producing a history of parameter values; and

(g) graphically displaying in visual association the actual value, the range, the prediction, the history, the alarm and prediction messages and the action recommendation.