METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO INFORMATION PRESENTED VIA ELECTRONIC DISPLAYS TO PROCESS PLANT OPERATORS

• US 20100123594A1
• Filed: 11/20/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Schleiss, Duncan, Scott, Cindy
• Granted Patent: US 8,103,367 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/679
• 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: Y10S 715/97 Instrumentation and component modelling, e.g. interactive control panel

Abstract

Example methods and apparatus to draw attention to information presented via electronic displays to process plant operators are disclosed. A disclosed example method to draw attention to information presented to a process plant operator comprises presenting an electronic process plant display, collecting process plant data, processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant, and modifying the electronic process plant display to at least partially obscure substantially all of the process plant display except for the identified portion.

Claims

1. A method to draw attention to information presented to a process plant operator, the method comprising:

presenting an electronic process plant display;

collecting process plant data;

processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant; and

modifying the electronic process plant display to at least partially obscure substantially all of the process plant display except for the identified portion.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the identified portion of the process plant corresponds to at least one of a most recent alarm, a new alarm, a change in a alarm state, a status change, a flag, a flag change, a new item, a new variable, a most recent change in state, a cluster of alarms, a deviation in the rate of change, a bad input, a bad output, a troublesome control loop, a faulty device, a chronically sticky valve, or a fault.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein modifying the electronic process plant display comprises:

identifying a geometric region surrounding the identified portion of the process plant display; and

obscuring the portion of the electronic process plant display outside the geometric region.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein a second portion of the electronic process plant display inside the geometric region is at least one of unobscured or unmodified.

5. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the portion of the electronic process plant display outside the geometric region is at least one of desaturated, diminished in appearance or overlaid with a partially transparent image.

6. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein the geometric region comprises at least one of a circular region, an oval region, a star shaped region, or a rectangular region.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the portion of the process plant is associated with a piece of equipment of the process plant.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the process plant display comprises an active display window.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the collecting process plant data and processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant are performed at an operator station.

10. An operator station apparatus comprising:

a display;

an operator display module to present an operator application on the display; and

a spotlighter to analyze process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant and to obscure a portion the operator application, wherein the portion of the operator application does not include the identified portion of the process plant.

11. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the identified portion of the process plant corresponds to at least one of a most recent alarm, a new alarm, a change in a alarm state, a status change, a flag, a flag change, a new item, a new variable, a most recent change in state, a cluster of alarms, a deviation in the rate of change, a bad input, a bad output, a troublesome control loop, a faulty device, a chronically sticky valve, or a fault.

12. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the spotlighter is to obscure the portion of the operator application by:

identifying a geometric region surrounding the identified portion of the operator application; and

obscuring the portion of the operator application outside the geometric region.

13. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein a second portion of the operator application inside the geometric region is at least one of not obscured or not modified.

14. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the spotlighter is to obscure the portion of the operator application outside the geometric region by at least one of desaturating colors, diminishing in appearance or overlaying an image on the portion of the operator application outside the geometric region.

15. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the geometric region comprises at least one of a circular region, an oval region, a star shaped region, or a rectangular region.

16. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the operator station apparatus comprises an operator station of a process plant control system.

17. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 10, further comprising an operating system to present the operator application and to allow the spotlighter to obscure substantially all of the operator application except for the identified portion.

18. An operator station apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein the operator application comprises an active display window.

19. An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to draw attention to information presented to a process plant operator by:

presenting an electronic process plant display;

collecting process plant data;

processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant; and

modifying the electronic process plant display to at least partially obscure substantially all of the process plant display except for the identified portion.

20. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 19, wherein the identified portion of the process plant corresponds to at least one of a most recent alarm, a new alarm, a change in a alarm state, a status change, a flag, a flag change, a new item, a new variable, a most recent change in state, a cluster of alarms, a deviation in the rate of change, a bad input, a bad output, a troublesome control loop, a faulty device, a chronically sticky valve, or a fault.

21. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 19, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to modify the electronic process plant display by:

identifying a geometric region surrounding the identified portion of the process plant; and

obscuring the portion of the electronic process plant display outside the geometric region.

22. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 21, wherein a second portion of the electronic process plant display inside the geometric region is at least one of unobscured or unmodified.

23. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 21, wherein the portion of the electronic process plant display outside the geometric region is at least one of desaturated, diminished in appearance or overlaid with a partially transparent image.

24. A method to draw attention to information presented to a process plant operator, the method comprising:

presenting an electronic process plant display;

collecting process plant data;

processing the process plant data to identify a portion of a process plant;

identifying a geometric region surrounding the identified portion of the process plant display; and

highlighting the portion of the electronic process plant display inside the geometric region to draw attention to the portion of the process plant depicted inside the geometric region.

25. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the identified portion of the process plant corresponds to at least one of a most recent alarm, a new alarm, a change in a alarm state, a status change, a flag, a flag change, a new item, a new variable, a most recent change in state, a cluster of alarms, a deviation in the rate of change, a bad input, a bad output, a troublesome control loop, a faulty device, a chronically sticky valve, or a fault.

26. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the portion of the electronic process plant display outside the geometric region is at least one of desaturated, diminished in appearance or overlaid with a partially transparent image.

27. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the geometric region comprises at least one of a circular region, an oval region, or a rectangular region.

28. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the portion of the process plant is associated with a piece of equipment of the process plant.

29. A method as defined in claim 24, wherein the process plant display comprises an inactive display window.