Data visualization within an integrated asset data system for a process plant

• US 7,493,310 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Eryurek, Evren, Hokeness, Scott N., Harris, Stuart
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown; Sheree N
• Application Number:
  US10/394,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20040139085A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,160 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/100, 700/51, 700/3, 709/206, 100/51
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/418 Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31334 Database with devices, configuration, of plant
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31467 Display of operating conditions of machines, workcells, selected programs
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33152 Server has organisation, tree data to access user data, client sends also both
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/36121 Tree oriented menu, go to root, scroll up down, select mode
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0272 Presentation of monitored results, e.g. selection of status reports to be displayed; Filtering information to the user
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A process plant data collection and viewing system uses a common or integrated navigational tree structure and one or more common display formats to enable a user to view, in a similar and consistent manner, information obtained from different applications or data sources within a process plant at any desired level of integration, even though the actual data from the multiple different data applications or data sources may be collected and organized in different manners by different data sources. Because a common visualization of information is provided at different levels of data integration, a user can easily navigate through the data stored in the database or collected by the different data sources at higher or lower levels of data integration without having to contend with or encounter multiple different viewing formats for the same type of data.

Claims

1. A data integration system of a process plant having a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the process plant, the data integration system comprising:

a database configured to store the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications, wherein two or more of the plurality of data source applications each presents the entity data in different display formats; and

a display application stored on a computer readable memory and configured to execute on a processor to create a display for the entity data stored in the database, the display including an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in the database and an informational view, wherein the display application enables a user to select different ones of the folders within the navigational tree to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data to be displayed, and presents the entity data associated with a selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different ones of the folders associated with the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data, wherein the first format is a common display format for presenting entity data associated with each of the plurality of folders specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in a same format without presenting a same type of entity data in multiple different display formats.

2. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the informational view includes a tab that enables the entity data associated with the selected folder to be viewed in a second format different than the first format.

3. The data integration system of claim 2, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized according to alerts associated with the entities.

4. The data integration system of claim 3, wherein the display application is configured to enable a user to acknowledge one of the alerts displayed in the informational view and includes communication software for communicating an acknowledgement of the one of the alerts to one of the data source applications via a communication network.

5. The data integration system of claim 2, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized by alarms associated with the entities.

6. The data integration system of claim 5, wherein the display application is configured to enable a user to acknowledge one of the alarms displayed in the informational view and includes communication software for communicating an acknowledgement of the one of the alarms to one of the data source applications via the communication network.

7. The data integration system of claim 2, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized by events associated with the entities.

8. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the first format presents entity data categorized by physical assets associated with the entities.

9. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the navigational tree includes a first folder specifying entity data integrated according to a manner in which the entity data is stored in the database and one or more subfolders associated with the first folder and a second folder specifying entity data integrated according to the manner in which the entity data is collected by the data source applications and one or more subfolders associated with the second folder specifying individual data source applications, wherein the first and second folders are at the first level of data integration and the subfolders are at a second level of data integration.

10. The data integration system of claim 9, wherein the subfolders associated with the first folder specify different geographical areas of the process plant.

11. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the display application includes a data filter that filters entity data displayed in the first format based on attributes of the entity data.

14. The data integration system of claim 1, wherein the display application includes a user preference field specifying one or more display preferences of a particular user and wherein the display application presents entity data in the first format according to the one or more display preferences of the particular user when the particular user is using the display application.

12. A data integration system of a process plant having a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the process plant, the data integration system comprising:

a database configured to store the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications;

a display application stored on a computer readable memory and configured to execute on a processor to create a display for the entity data stored in the database, the display including an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying different levels of integration of the entity data in the database and an informational view, wherein the display application enables a user to select different ones of the folders within the navigational tree to specify different levels of integration of the entity data to be displayed and presents the entity data associated with a selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different ones of the folders associated with the different levels of integration of the entity data; and

a search engine that searches entity data in the informational view and presents entity data located in the search according to the first format.

13. The data integration system of claim 12, wherein the search engine includes a display field having search fields specifying parameters of the entity data as displayed in the first format.

15. A method of presenting entity data generated in a process plant having a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the process plant, the method comprising:

storing the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications in a database, wherein two or more of the plurality of data source applications each presents the entity data in different display formats;

displaying an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in the database;

displaying an informational view associated with the navigational tree;

enabling a user to select one of the plurality of folders within the navigational tree to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data; and

presenting the entity data associated with the selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different folders associated with the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data, wherein the first format is a common display format for presenting entity data associated with each of the plurality of folders specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in a same format without presenting a same type of entity data in multiple different display formats.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein displaying the informational view includes displaying a tab associated with a second format different than the first format and displaying the entity data associated with the selected folder in the second format when the tab is selected by a user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized according to alerts associated with the entities.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized by events associated with the entities.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the first format presents entity data categorized by physical assets associated with the entities.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein displaying the integrated navigational tree includes displaying a first folder specifying entity data integrated according to a manner in which the data is stored in the database and one or more subfolders associated with the first folder and displaying a second folder specifying entity data integrated according to the manner in which the entity data is collected by the data source applications and one or more subfolders associated with the second folder specifying individual data source applications, wherein the first and second folders are at a first level of data integration and the subfolders are at a second level of data integration.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the subfolders associated with the first folder specify different geographical areas of the process plant.

22. The method of claim 15, further including providing a data filter that filters entity data displayed in the first format based on attributes of the entity data.

24. The method of claim 15, further including providing a user preference field to enable a particular user to specify one or more display preferences for the particular user and wherein displaying the informational view includes presenting entity data in the first format according to the one or more display preferences of the particular user when the particular user is using the display application.

23. A method of presenting entity data generated in a process plant having a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the process plant, the method comprising:

storing the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the process plant collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications in a database;

displaying an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying different levels of integration of the entity data in the database;

displaying an informational view associated with the navigational tree;

enabling a user to select one of the plurality of folders within the navigational tree to specify different levels of integration of the entity data;

presenting the entity data associated with the selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different folders associated with the different levels of integration of the entity data; and

providing a search engine that searches entity data in the informational view and presents entity data located in the search according to the first format.

25. A data integration system of one or more process plants, comprising:

a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the one or more process plants and each of which is disposed at a different geographic location, wherein two or more of the plurality of data source applications each presents the entity data in different display formats;

a communication network coupled to each of the plurality of data source applications;

a data integration server connected to the communication network, the data integration server configured to collect the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the one or more process plants collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications; and

a display application associated with the data integration server, stored on a computer readable memory and configured to execute on a processor to create a display for the entity data collected stored in the database, the display including an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in the database and an informational view, wherein the display application enables a user to select the different ones of the folders within the navigational tree to specify higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data to be displayed and presents the entity data associated with a selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different ones of the folders associated with the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data, wherein the first format is a common display format for presenting entity data associated with each of the plurality of folders specifying the higher and lower levels of integration of the entity data in a same format without presenting a same type of entity data in multiple different display formats.

26. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the informational view includes a tab that enables the entity data associated with the selected folder to be viewed in a second format different than the first format.

27. The data integration system of claim 26, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized according to alerts associated with the entities.

28. The data integration system of claim 27, wherein the display application is configured to enable a user to acknowledge one of the alerts displayed in the informational view and includes communication software for communicating an acknowledgement of the one of the alerts to one of the data source applications via the communication network.

29. The data integration system of claim 26, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized by events associated with the entities.

30. The data integration system of claim 26, wherein the second format presents entity data categorized by alarms associated with the entities.

31. The data integration system of claim 30, wherein the display application is configured to enable a user to acknowledge one of the alarms displayed in the informational view and includes communication software for communicating an acknowledgement of the one of the alarms to one of the data source applications via the communication network.

32. The data integration system of claim 26, wherein the first format presents entity data categorized by physical assets associated with the entities.

33. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the navigational tree includes a first folder specifying entity data integrated according to a manner in which the entity data is stored in the database and one or more subfolders associated with the first folder and a second folder specifying entity data integrated according to the manner in which the entity data is collected by the data source applications and one or more subfolders associated with the second folder specifying individual data source applications, wherein the first and second folders are at the first level of data integration and the subfolders are at a second level of data integration.

34. The data integration system of claim 33, wherein the subfolders associated with the first folder specify different geographical areas of the process plant.

35. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the display application includes a data filter that filters entity data displayed in the first format based on attributes of the entity data.

38. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the display application includes a user preference field specifying one or more display preferences of a particular user and wherein the display application presents entity data in the first format according to the one or more display preferences of the particular user when the particular user is using the display application.

39. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the communication network is a wide area network.

40. The data integration system of claim 25, wherein the communication network is the World Wide Web.

36. The data integration system of one or more process plants, comprising:

a plurality of data source applications, each of which collects or generates entity data pertaining to one or more different entities within the one or more process plants and each of which is disposed at a different geographic location;

a communication network coupled to each of the plurality of data source applications;

a data integration server connected to the communication network, the data integration server configured to collect the entity data pertaining to the one or more entities within the one or more process plants collected or generated by the plurality of data source applications;

a display application associated with the data integration server, stored on a computer readable memory and configured to execute on a processor to create a display for the entity data collected stored in the database, the display including an integrated navigational tree having a plurality of folders specifying different levels of integration of the entity data in the database and an informational view, wherein the display application enables a user to select the different ones of the folders within the navigational tree to specify different levels of integration of the entity data to be displayed and presents the entity data associated with a selected folder in the informational view in a first format for each of the different ones of the folders associated with the different levels of integration of the entity data; and

a search engine that searches entity data in the informational view and presents entity data located in the search according to the first format.

37. The data integration system of claim 36, wherein the search engine includes a display field having search fields specifying parameters of the entity data as displayed in the first format.