Graphical process variable trend monitoring for a process control system
First Claim
1. A method of generating and displaying, via a computing device having a user interface, a graphic trend symbol that identifies trends of a process variable in a process control system of a process control plant, the method comprising:
- accessing, from a first memory of the process control system, an update of a current value of a process variable associated with an element in the process control system, the element communicatively coupled to the computing device;
accessing, from a second memory of the process control system, one or more previous values of the process variable associated with the element in the process control system;
computing a trend value associated with the process variable using at least the current value of the process variable and the one or more previous values of the process variable;
accessing, from a third memory of the process control system, a desired value for the process variable associated with the element in the process control system, the desired value being an intended target value for the process variable;
determining a location on the user interface corresponding to the location of the element in the process control system with which the process variable is associated based on a configuration of the process control system as stored in a configuration database;
processing the current value of the process variable, the trend value associated with the process variable, and the desired value for the process variable to generate a graphic trend symbol associated with the process variable,the graphic trend symbol including a graphic element configured to represent the current value of the process variable, a graphic trend element configured to represent the trend value associated with the process variable, and a graphic desired value element configured to represent the desired value for the process variable,an orientation of the generated graphic element, relative to the generated graphic desired value element in the graphic trend symbol, indicating a relationship between the current value of the process variable and the desired value for the process variable; and
the generated graphic trend element, the generated graphic element, and the generated graphic desired value element not occluding each other in the graphic trend symbol; and
displaying the graphic trend symbol in the determined location on the user interface that corresponds to the location of the element of the process control system with which the process variable is associated.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process control monitoring system for a process control plant uses graphic trend symbols to assist in detecting and monitoring trends of process variables within the process control plant. A graphic display application within the process control monitoring system may implement and display each graphic trend symbol to graphically indicate or encapsulate current trend and value information of a process variable within the process control plant. The graphic display application may display the graphic trend symbol in a spatially realistic location within a graphical representation of the process control plant while maintaining the hierarchical structure or each hierarchical level of the process plant. The graphic display application may also include a zoom feature that enables a user to quickly drill down through tend data to obtain more information and to support problem identification and diagnosis tasks.
53 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method of generating and displaying, via a computing device having a user interface, a graphic trend symbol that identifies trends of a process variable in a process control system of a process control plant, the method comprising:
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accessing, from a first memory of the process control system, an update of a current value of a process variable associated with an element in the process control system, the element communicatively coupled to the computing device; accessing, from a second memory of the process control system, one or more previous values of the process variable associated with the element in the process control system; computing a trend value associated with the process variable using at least the current value of the process variable and the one or more previous values of the process variable; accessing, from a third memory of the process control system, a desired value for the process variable associated with the element in the process control system, the desired value being an intended target value for the process variable; determining a location on the user interface corresponding to the location of the element in the process control system with which the process variable is associated based on a configuration of the process control system as stored in a configuration database; processing the current value of the process variable, the trend value associated with the process variable, and the desired value for the process variable to generate a graphic trend symbol associated with the process variable, the graphic trend symbol including a graphic element configured to represent the current value of the process variable, a graphic trend element configured to represent the trend value associated with the process variable, and a graphic desired value element configured to represent the desired value for the process variable, an orientation of the generated graphic element, relative to the generated graphic desired value element in the graphic trend symbol, indicating a relationship between the current value of the process variable and the desired value for the process variable; and the generated graphic trend element, the generated graphic element, and the generated graphic desired value element not occluding each other in the graphic trend symbol; and displaying the graphic trend symbol in the determined location on the user interface that corresponds to the location of the element of the process control system with which the process variable is associated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, executable by a processor, for generating and displaying, via a computing device having a user interface, a graphic trend symbol that identifies trends of a process variable in a process control system of a process control plant, the instructions comprising:
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instructions for accessing, from a first memory of the process control system, an update of a current value of a process variable associated with an element in the process control system, the element communicatively coupled to the computing device; instructions for accessing, from a second memory of the process control system, one or more previous values of the process variable associated with the element in the process control system; instructions for computing a trend value associated with the process variable using at least the current value of the process variable and the one or more previous values of the process variable; instructions for accessing, from a third memory of the process control system, a desired value for the process variable associated with the element in the process control system, the desired value being an intended target value for the process variable; instructions for determining a location on the user interface corresponding to the location of the element in the process control system with which the process variable is associated based on a configuration of the process control system as stored in a configuration database; instructions for processing the current value of the process variable, the trend value associated with the process variable, and the desired value for the process variable to generate a graphic trend symbol associated with the process variable, the graphic trend symbol including a graphic element configured to represent the current value of the process variable, a graphic trend element configured to represent the trend value associated with the process variable, and a graphic desired value element configured to represent the desired value for the process variable, an orientation of the generated graphic element, relative to the generated graphic desired value element in the graphic trend symbol, indicating a relationship between the current value of the process variable and the desired value for the process variable; and the generated graphic trend element, the generated graphic element, and the generated graphic desired value element not occluding each other in the graphic trend symbol; and instructions for displaying the graphic trend symbol in the determined location on the user interface that corresponds to the location of the element of the process control system with which the process variable is associated.
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41. A method of generating and displaying, via a computing device having a user interface, a graphic trend symbol that identifies a trend of a process variable in a process control system of a process control plant, the method comprising:
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accessing, from a first memory of the process control system, an update of a current value of a process variable associated with an element in the process control system, the element communicatively coupled to the computing device; accessing, from a second memory of the process control system, one or more previous values of the process variable associated with the element in the process control system; computing a current magnitude of a rate of change associated with the process variable using at least the current value of the process variable and the one or more previous values of the process variable; determining a location on the user interface corresponding to the location of the element in the process control system with which the process variable is associated based on a configuration of the process control system as stored in a configuration database; processing the current magnitude of the rate of change associated with the process variable to generate a graphic trend symbol associated with the process variable, the graphic trend symbol including a first graphic element configured to represent the current magnitude of the rate of change associated with the process variable; displaying the graphic trend symbol in the determined location on the user interface that corresponds to the location of the element of the process control system with which the process variable is associated. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A method of generating and displaying, via a computing device having a user interface, a graphic trend symbol that identifies a trend of a process variable in a process control system of a process control plant, the method comprising:
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accessing, from a first memory of the process control system, an update of a current value of a process variable associated with an element in the process control system, the element communicatively coupled to the computing device; accessing, from a second memory of the process control system, one or more previous values of the process variable associated with the element in the process control system; computing a direction of change associated with the process variable using at least the current value of the process variable and the one or more previous values of the process variable; determining a location on the user interface corresponding to the location of the element in the process control system with which the process variable is associated based on a configuration of the process control system as stored in a configuration database; processing the direction of change of change associated with the process variable to generate a graphic trend symbol associated with the process variable, the graphic trend symbol including a first graphic element configured to represent the direction of change associated with the process variable and a desired value element configured to represent the desired value for the process variable an orientation of the first graphic element relative to the graphic desired value element in the graphic trend symbol, indicating a relationship between the direction of change of the process variable and the desired value for the process variable; and displaying the graphic trend symbol in the determined location on the user interface that corresponds to the location of the element of the process control system with which the process variable is associated.
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Specification