Field device information display apparatus and method that display information based on proximity

• US 9,523,970 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Itou, Toshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lindsay, Bernard G
• Application Number:
  US13/742,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20130190902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A device information display apparatus displaying device information acquired by communicating with a field device may include a storage unit that associates and stores first position information indicating a position at which the device information displayed on the display device is acquired and reproduction information for reproducing display content of the display device that has been modified based on an operation instruction for the device information displayed on the display device; a position information acquisition unit that acquires second position information indicating a current position of the device information display apparatus; and a display control unit that calculates a distance between positions indicated by the first position information and the second position information, wherein if the distance is no greater than a prescribed reference distance, the reproduced information corresponding to the first position information is used to reproduce the display content of the display device on the display device.

Claims

1. A device information display apparatus comprising:

a communication unit configured to communicate with a field device;

a display device configured to display parameters of the field device and values of the parameters acquired by communicating with the field device via the communication unit;

a storage unit;

a display control unit configured to associate first position information, which indicates a position of the device information display apparatus at which the values of the parameters displayed on the display device are acquired, and reproduction information, which is for reproducing the parameters that have been modified based on a first operation instruction for the parameters displayed on the display device, and to store the first position information and the reproduction information into the storage unit;

a position information acquisition unit configured to acquire second position information that indicates a current position of the device information display apparatus and provide the second position information to the display control unit; and

a setting unit configured to change the values of the parameters set to the field device based on a second operation instruction for the values of the parameters,

wherein the display control unit is configured to;

calculate a distance between positions indicated by the first position information stored in the storage unit and the second position information,

identify at least one field device associated with the first position information in which the distance between the positions indicted by the first position information and the second position information is no greater than a prescribed reference distance,

read out the reproduction information associated with the identified at least one field device from the storage unit, to reproduce the parameters on the display device using the reproductions information associated with the identified at least one field device, and

display the parameters, which have been modified based on the first operation instruction for the parameters, on the display device, to associate the second position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit with the reproduction information for reproducing the modified parameters, and to store the second position information as the first position information and the reproduction information for reproducing the modified parameters into the storage unit,

wherein the display control unit is configured to be capable of displaying a two-dimensional map showing a relationship between the position indicated by the first position information stored in the storage unit and the position indicated by the second position information acquired in the position information acquisition unit.

2. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to reproduce the parameters by using the reproduction information in units of windows.

3. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input/output unit configured to be capable of outputting to outside the reproduction information stored in the storage unit, and receiving from the outside the reproduction information that is to be stored in the storage unit.

4. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position information acquisition unit is configured to measure the position of the device information display apparatus by receiving a radio signal from a satellite using the Global Positioning System.

5. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the first position information, which indicates the position of acquisition of the values of the parameters from the field device when maintenance work of the field device is done, information indicating the field device from which, and the time at which, the values of the parameters had been acquired, the reproduction information, which is for reproducing the parameters that have been modified based on a user instruction, information indicating a time of modification of the parameters, and information indicating the number of times of accessing display content of the display device.

6. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to edit device information display screen displayed on the display device and to manage the storage unit in response to the first operation instruction output from an input device.

7. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to change device information display screen that is to be displayed on the display device by changing the parameters that are managed by the display control unit based on the first operation instruction output from an input device.

8. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured to count the number of times that each page displayed on the display device is accessed and to store information indicating the counted number of access times in the storage unit, and

the display control unit is configured to read out the reproduction information associated with the page, which have been accessed at least an established number of times, from the storage unit, and to reproduce the parameters on the display device using the reproduction information.

9. The device information display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a manual editing unit configured to set display or non-display for individual parameters displayed on the display device based on an operation of an input device by a user.

10. A device information display method for displaying parameters of a field device and values of the parameters acquired by communicating with the field device on a display device, the device information display method comprising:

acquiring first position information that indicates a position of a device information display apparatus at which the values of the parameters displayed on the display device are acquired;

storing reproduction information, which is for reproducing the parameters that has been modified based on an operation instruction for the parameters displayed on the display device, associating the reproduction information with the first position information;

acquiring second position information that indicates a current position of the device information display apparatus;

calculating a distance between positions indicated by the first position information stored and the second position information,

identifying at least one field device associated with the first position information wherein the distance between the positions indicated by the first position information and the second position information is no greater than a prescribed reference distance,

reading out the reproduction information associated with the identified at least one field device

reproducing the parameters on the display device using the reproduction information associated with the identified at least one field device,

displaying the parameters, which have been modified based on the operation instruction for the parameters, on the display device, associating the second position information with the reproduction information for reproducing the modified parameters, and storing the second position information as the first position information and the reproduction information for reproducing the modified parameters, and

displaying a two-dimensional map showing a relationship between the position indicated by the first position information stored in the storage unit and the position indicated by the second position information acquired in the position information acquisition unit.

11. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

reproducing the parameters by using the reproduction information in units of windows.

12. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

outputting to outside the reproduction information that has been stored; and

receiving from the outside the reproduction information that is to be stored.

13. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

measuring the current position by receiving a radio signal from a satellite using the Global Positioning System.

14. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

storing the first position information, which indicates the position of acquisition of the values of the parameters from the field device when maintenance work of the field device is done, information indicating the field device from which, and the time at which, the values of the parameters had been acquired, the reproduction information, which is for reproducing the parameters that have been modified based on a user instruction, information indicating a time of modification of the parameters, and information indicating the number of times of accessing display content of the display device.

15. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

counting the number of times that each page displayed on the display device is accessed; and

storing information indicating the counted number of access times, and

wherein reproducing the parameters on the display device comprises reading out the reproduction information associated with the page, which have been accessed at least an established number of times, and reproducing the parameters on the display device using the reproduction information.

16. The device information display method according to claim 10, further comprising:

setting display or non-display for individual parameters displayed on the display device based on an operation of an input device by a user.