Alarm significance mapping

• US 5,892,440 A
• Filed: 05/14/1997
• Issued: 04/06/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Combustion Engineering Incorporated (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Bryan, Robert Emmett
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C.
• Application Number:
  US08/856,149
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 340/524, 340/511, 340/517, 340/521, 340/506, 340/525, 340/825.06, 340/825.16, 340/825.17, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 364/146, 364/188, 345/117, 345/118, 345/348, 345/173
• US Class Current: 340/524
• 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 3/008 Man-machine interface, e.g. control room layout
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/00 Energy generation of nuclear origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/30 Nuclear fission reactors

Abstract

An alarm significance mapping method assigns the subset of parameters and their alarms considered to be of a safety-critical nature in an industrial control system and displays that subset on an apex screen display and other selected appropriate displays, such as a touch-responsive display in the form of alarm icons for presentation to the system operators. Each alarm icon on the `apex` display is coupled or concatenated to other displays through a display page hierarchy so that the operator, by selecting a particular alarm icon on the `apex` screen, can follow the alarm `thread` through the multi-level display page hierarchy to the ultimate condition or conditions that cause an alarm on the `apex` screen.

Claims

1. A significant-alarm display system for an industrial control system having a plurality of monitored alarm objects defined by parameters, components, and subsystems and alarm conditions associated therewith, a subset of the monitored alarm objects having a predetermined criticality to successful operation of the industrial control system and having a video display system for displaying information on a display surface, the video display system responsive to actuation of a selected portion of the display surface by touching, the system comprising:

an apex display screen presenting an iconic representation of each monitored object of the subset of monitored objects having a predetermined criticality to successful operation of the industrial control system, and

at least one additional screen accessed by actuation of a selected iconic representation of the apex screen, a touch of an iconic representation of an alarm condition relating to a monitored objecting causing a transfer by appropriate navigation aids to a second screen to locate a root cause of the alarm on the most desirable display page.

2. A display system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said apex display screen is a touch-responsive display.

3. A display system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said iconic representation of each monitored object of the subset of monitored objects includes a containment vessel, a reactor, a steam generator, a pressurizer, a cooling water heat exchanger, and related plumbing.

4. A display system as set forth in claim 3, wherein said apex display screen includes alarm-acknowledgement (a) matrix, (b) parameter icons, (c) system icons, and (d) display page directory icons.

5. A method far displaying significant alarms in an industrial control system having a plurality of monitored alarm objects defined by parameters, components, and subsystems and alarm conditions associated therewith, a subset of the monitored alarm objects having a predetermined criticality to successful operation of the industrial control system and a video display system for displaying information on a display surface, the video display system responsive to actuation of a selected portion of the display surface by touching, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying, on a video display surface, an iconic representation of each monitored alarm object of the subset of monitored alarm objects having a predetermined criticality to successful operation of the industrial control system, and

providing access to at least one additional screen by appropriate navigation aids by actuation of a selected iconic representation on the first-mentioned display to cause a transfer to at least one additional screen to locate a root cause of an alarm condition.

6. A display method as set forth in claim 5, wherein said apex display screen is a touch-responsive display.

7. A display system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said iconic representation of each monitored object of the subset of monitored objects includes a containment vessel, a reactor, a steam generator, a pressurizer, a cooling water heat exchanger, and related plumbing.

8. A display system as set forth in claim 7, wherein said apex display screen includes an alarm-acknowledgement (a) matrix, (b) parameter icon, (c) system icons, and (d) display page directory icons.