Human-machine interface for a control system
Contents
1. a selection menu Sa The display in this example is a 3 D model of an oil platform The 3 D model displayed is a computer generated model that may be manipulated so that the oil platform may be viewed from different angles and at different resolutions or magnifications FIG 15 shows a close up view of the same model of the oil platform 2 and FIG 2 shows a close up of process equipment on a part of the oil platform FIG 5 shows schematically that the 3 d model is rotatable for example about an axis 60 in a direction indi cated by arrow 60 The process equipment of the oil platform is monitored and controlled by a control system The control system comprises information about the process each stage of the process and each separate equipment in the process The information real time historic and documentation is stored accessible from the control system FIG 2 shows a display comprising the selection menu 5a a tank 30 associated piping 34 a pump 33 a pump motor 32 and a pressuriser 31 Pressuriser 31 is shown to be marked in a particular way 9 shown here by a dashed ring The image of pressuriser 32 is caused to flash and change colour as sug gested in the Figure by ring 9 representing by this feature of the 3 d model that an alarm about the pressuriser has been logged by the control system Such an alarm in a process may be handled as follows A specialist or expert on the oil platform process has a display of the model showing th2. can be used to view the selected object or which has the best view and then maneuvering the camera pan tilt zoom so the selected object is shown in view Current CCTV systems have separate HMIs most commonly these are separate hard ware panels from the rest of the control room equipment This occupies a lot of physical space in control rooms is costly to develop install and maintain and it is difficult for operators to learn and handle many different HMIs and sys tems in time critical situations Traditional CCTV systems have separate HMIs most commonly dedicated hardware panels from the rest of the control room equipment The hardware panels interfaces occupy a lot of physical space in control rooms are costly to develop install and maintain and it is difficult for operators to learn and handle many different HMIs and systems in time critical situations Furthermore the interaction with the cam eras requires a great deal of knowledge of plant layout by the operator When an operator wants to view a specific peace of equipment or a plant area she must first select which camera to use then she must know the plant good enough to guide the camera to the correct pan tilt zoom setting to get the equip ment into view This is often done by a joystick type control The limited effectiveness of known CCTV systems is a similar situation to that of the known audio systems Today control room operators field operators back office pers
3. is mappable via set points watchpoints or other data points to execute an instruction to retrieve technical information provide additional information in the form of graphic informa tion manipulatable by an operator to access examine or carry out control actions for the equipment plant device or process
4. of said layers being displayed in a position in said model corresponding to a physical location of the respective elements wherein the operator may zoom into and out of the model or alter an orienta tion of the model selecting a point on the model map ping the point or data point on the computer generated model to data held by said control system about the equipment plant or device or at least one part or com ponent of said process and selecting or activating the point on the model to execute an instruction to retrieve technical information and to provide additional informa tion in the form of graphic information manipulatable by an operator to access examine or carry out control actions for the equipment plant device or process 34 A control system comprising a human machine inter face of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a three dimensional computer generated model of equip ment plant or device for carrying said process or a part or component of said process the model comprising a plurality of selectively displayed layers superimposed on the three dimensional model the layers comprising information regarding elements of the equipment plant device or process said elements of said layers being displayed in a position in said model corresponding to a physical location of the respective elements wherein the operator may zoom into and out of the model or alter an orientation of the model an
5. or more parts or com ponents of said process said model comprising graphic information manipulatable by an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to the equipment plant device or process the model comprising a plural ity of selectively displayed layers superimposed on the three dimensional model the layer comprising informa tion regarding elements of the equipment plant device or process said elements of said layers being displayed in a position in said model corresponding to a physical location of the respective elements wherein the operator may zoom into and out of the model or alter an orienta tion of the model selecting a point on the model mapping the point or data point on the computer generated model to data held by said control system about the equipment plant or device or at least one part or com ponent of said process and selecting or activating the point on the model to execute an instruction to retrieve technical information and to pro vide additional information in the form of graphic infor mation manipulatable by an operator to access examine or carry out control actions for a specific equipment plant device or process 23 The method according to claim 22 further comprising presenting on a display retrieved technical information associated with a device or process displayed or repre sented by said graphic element 24 The method according to claim 22 further comprising presen
6. technical infor mation relevant to a selected function location or other opera tional facet of the one or more parts of said process 12 The interface according to claim 11 wherein the one or more graphic components of said model are arranged with computer software elements for displaying technical infor mation relevant to a selected one or more components grouped into a plurality of functions locations and or opera tional facets for the selected one or more parts of said process 13 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to so as to graphically change an orientation of one or more selected parts of said model 14 The interface according to claim 13 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to so as to graphically change both scale and orien tation of one or more selected parts of said model 15 The interface according to claim 14 wherein said model is arranged so as to graphically change both scale and orientation of one or more selected parts of said model at the same time 16 The interface according to claim 14 wherein said model is arranged so as to change one or more selected parts of said model and display a moving image of said model in a mode of any from the list of fly through spinning 3D view ing zooming 17 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged displayed at least in part
7. Process industry Emergency Teams and a Fire on a Floor of the Plant Task Assess situation and plan rescue strategy with emer gency team Industry Process industry When a fire occurs on the plant floor the firefighters ambu lance and rescue teams need to be informed of information such as the exact location of the fire and of any personnel any dangerous leakages spills or possible can happen and how to access these areas Such information can be presented most efficiently by a 3D model of the plant and or a 2 D model A 2 D model that graphically visualises the floor layout for a given production floor and indicates with for example flash ing arrow signs overlaid on the floor of the layout plan the route to the nearest fire exit Such a model provides informa tion that may be understood even in the stress of an emer gency situation without any necessity for the viewer to understand or even read text The control room because of the HMI and because of its access to technical process informa US 7 715 929 B2 5 tion can also function as a temporary emergency centre where the emergency teams can get information and also discuss possible solutions or rescue strategies with operators or engineers Authorities Make a Safety Inspection e g the Railroad Inspectorate Task Authorities inspect situation at complex multi track rail stations Industry Railroad When the proper railroad authorities inspect safety and effic
8. US007715929B2 az United States Patent 10 Patent No US 7 715 929 B2 Skourup et al 45 Date of Patent May 11 2010 54 HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE FOR A 58 Field of Classification Search 700 17 CONTROL SYSTEM 700 83 9 340 3 1 715 757 848 See application file for complete search history 75 Inventors Charlotte Skourup Drammen NO i 56 Refi Cited John Pretlove Sandvika NO 56 E E ASES AIS Kristoffer Husoy Haslum NO U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 73 Assignee ABB Research Ltd Z rich CH hese JAk Watson otal 6 718 215 B2 4 2004 Friedrich etal 700 65 a 6 889 096 B2 5 2005 Spriggs etal 700 17 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 6 892 107 B2 5 2005 Baba etal 700 108 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 7 092 771 B2 8 2006 Retlichet al 700 72 U S C 154 b by 0 days 2002 0075244 Al 6 2002 Tani etal 345 173 2004 0098148 Al 5 2004 Retlich et al 700 83 21 Appl No 11 392 664 2007 0179641 Al 8 2007 Lucas et al n u 700 83 2009 0210071 Al 8 2009 Agrusaet al 700 9 22 Filed Mar 30 2006 cited by examiner 65 Prior Publication Data Primary Examiner Ronald D Hartman Jr US 2006 0241793 Al Oct 26 2006 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Venable LLP Eric J Franklin Related U S Application Data G7 ABSTRACT 60 Provisional application No 60 667 080 filed on Ap
9. aker announce ments for selected areas of the plant by the alarm or event affected without having to have extensive or detailed location knowledge beforehand It should be noted that while the above describes exempli fying embodiments of the invention there are several varia tions and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims We claim 1 A human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a three dimensional computer generated model of equip ment plant or device for carrying out said process or a part or component of said process wherein said model maps a point on the computer generated model to data held by said control system about the equipment plant or device or at least one part or component of said process said model comprising graphic information manipulatable by an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to the equipment plant device or process by selecting a point on the model which point is mappable via setpoints watchpoints or other data points to execute an instruction to retrieve technical informa tion provide additional information in the form of graphic information manipulatable by an operator to access examine and carry out control actions for the equipment plant device or process the model compris ing a plurality of selectively display
10. as A 3D model of plant and process equipment can aid in understanding deficiencies or sub optimal performance when examining the current process By highlighting the equip ment directly related to the process at hand e g by making the rest of the 3D model transparent and coding performance levels into different colors can be used to understand the situation and identify bottlenecks This is also an efficient method for communicating and discussing solutions between process control engineers control room and field operators production managers and other involved parties Electrification and a Planned Maintenance or Upgrade of Electrical System on a Platform Task Plan re routing of electrical system around section to be upgraded Industry Oil amp Gas Control room operators and service team meet and plan the upcoming maintenance work on the electric system for a section of the plant The 3D model of the platform displays the electric circuitry with the relevant power generators in a semi transparent view of the platform The possible re routings can be displayed and the impact can be examined visually for each possibility and all actors can interact with the model to highlight important areas or features directly This creates a simple and unambiguous foundation for dis cussion and decision making Safety and a Periodical Safety Check of all Valves Task Control room operators perform safety check of all valves Industry
11. as a three dimensional representation of said process arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to so as to graphically change an orientation of one or more selected parts of said model 18 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements 0 a 5 20 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 to superimpose a layer of information on top of a shape of one or more selected parts of said model 19 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to remove a layer of information from a shape of one or more selected parts of said model and display other information about said process 20 The interface according to claim 1 wherein the com puter generated model of said process provides and presents information in a control system of an oil or gas storage treatment or process installation 21 The interface according to claim 1 wherein the com puter generated model of said process provides and presents information in a control system of an electrical generation transmission or distribution installation 22 A method to monitor and control a process using a human machine interface for a system for monitoring and control the method comprising producing a three dimensional model of equipment plant or device for carrying out said process with at least one graphic element displaying one
12. ay show or superimpose technical data or information from any part of said process on the display of the one or more parts of said model 7 The interface according to claim 6 wherein said model is arranged with computer software elements to provide an active link for accessing or retrieving technical data or infor mation about one or more selected parts or components of said process displayed by said model 8 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged with computer software elements to provide an active link for accessing or retrieving technical data or real time information about a technical function of one or more selected parts or components of said process 9 The interface according to claim 8 wherein one or more graphic components of said model are arranged with com puter software elements for displaying a plurality of groups of technical information grouped relevant to a selected function location or other operational facet or of a selected graphic component 10 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged with computer software elements to provide an active link for accessing or retrieving historical technical data or information about a technical function of one or more selected parts or components of said process so displayed 11 The interface according to claim 1 wherein the one or more graphic components of said model are arranged with computer software elements for displaying
13. ble flash memories used in digital cameras etc phones or removable hard drives etc may also be used The program may also in part be supplied from a data network 10 which may in part or tem porarily comprise a public network such as the Internet In a further preferred embodiment structured text docu ments are used to link or provide references to the objects and control objects of the interface to objects and control objects held by the control system It is necessary to connect 3D operator interfaces of the models to the control system objects such that the 3D interface can be updated with real time information from the process plant e g the 3D model part representing the object starts blinking when the object is in an alarm situation For this to be possible there must be a link between the control system objects such as the real time measurements from the distributed control system and the 3D objects It is important to find good methods for config uring 3D interfaces otherwise the engineering phase will be much too costly because every single control system object must be connected to a3D representation in addition to the 2D representation hence to make each link or reference by means of a manual configuration would increase the current engineering effort to a great extent Configuring the interfaces automatically can be done by using a structured text format such as xml extended xml caex other industry accepted XML exten
14. close up and an alarm state according to another embodiment of the invention FIGS 3a 3b and 3c are schematic representations of a display of a human machine interface each diagram showing a display of one or more selected layers of information according to a third embodiment of the invention FIG 4 a schematic representation of a display of a human machine interface showing a display of a group of operational or functional data selectable for a selected one or more com ponent parts of the process according to another embodiment of the invention FIG 5 is a display of a human machine interface showing a part of the HMI display being arranged rotatable about an axis according to another embodiment of the invention FIG 6 is a display of a human machine interface showing operational facets of a device that are linked to data stored in a control about the selected one or more component parts of the process FIG 7 is a schematic flowchart for a method to handle an alarm using the HMI to control and monitor a process accord ing to an embodiment of the invention 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 FIG 8 is a schematic flowchart for another use of the HMI to control and monitor a process DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS FIG 1a shows display of an oil platform a process for production or exploration etc for oil and gas The display 1 comprises an oil platform 2 with one or more production areas 4 and
15. d a computer comprising a Human Machine Interface com prising a model of said process arranged in that said model maps a point on the computer generated model to 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 65 14 data held by said control system about the at least one part or component of said process wherein said model comprises graphic information manipulatable by an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to the equipment plant device or process by selecting a point on the model which point is mappable via set points watchpoints or other data points to execute an instruction to retrieve technical information provide additional information in the form of graphic informa tion manipulatable by an operator to access examine or carry out control actions for the equipment plant device or process 35 The control system according to claim 34 wherein the human machine interface comprises a model of said process arranged to map known set points in the model to data held by said control system about the at least one part or component of said process 36 The control system according to claim 34 wherein the human machine interface may be displayed and or manipu lated using a portable and or wearable computing device 37 The control system according to claim 34 wherein known set points in the model are linked or referenced to data held by said control system about the at least one part or component of said process ut
16. e oil platform as shown in FIG 1a 1b or 6 etc The display be a Macro view of the model of the oil platform rotating thus showing a fly around An alarm is signaled visually on the display and or by a sound signal and the display automatically zooms in through the 3D model to the specific device location of the alarm The expert selects to view the alarm description which has been logged by the software of the control system which is further associated with control system software entities for the and each specific device for example a pop up view when the expert right clicks the image of the device 31 FIG 6 shows a display 1 zoomed in to the process equipment including pressuriser 31 and a computer pointer device 40 a pop up list 41 for the pressuriser The pop up list preferably contains a description of the alarm title device nature of alarm most recent occurrence and so on A similar method of use of the HMI is shown as a flowchart in FIG 7 FIG 3a shows a display of the process section of the oil platform in which process equipment pressuriser 31 pump 32 are shown but the associated electrical system or piping is not shown FIG 36 shows a display of the process section of the oil platform in which the piping 34 is shown but some types of process equipment are not shown The expert selects two additional visualisation layers each in turn piping 34 FIG 3b and components 31 etc in the 3 D model By examining the informatio
17. e part or component of said process for which a warning or alarm has been signalled 31 The method according to claim 30 further comprising manipulating the model to add or remove a layer of opera tional information associated with the at least one part or component for any from the list of electrical system water utility system location of people alarms process materials fire and or gas leakages 32 The method according to claim 30 further comprising manipulating the model to display the at least one part or component utilizing any graphic operation or 3D mod elling operation from the list of fly through spinning 3D viewing zooming 33 A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium and computer program instructions recorded on the computer readable medium and executable by a computer or pro cessor to carry out a method comprising producing a three dimensional model of equipment plant or device for carrying out said process with at least one graphic element displaying one or more parts or components of said process said model comprising graphic informa tion manipulatable by an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to the equipment plant device or process the model comprising a plurality of selec tively displayed layers superimposed on the three di mensional model the layers comprising information regarding elements of the equipment plant device or process said elements
18. ed layers superim posed on the three dimensional model the layers com prising information regarding elements of the equipment plant device or process said elements of said layers being displayed in a position in said model corresponding to a physical location of the respective elements wherein the operator may zoom into and out of the model or alter an orientation of the model 2 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to change a shape of a displayed image and generate a change in an orientation of one or more selected parts of said model so displayed 3 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements to change a shape of a displayed image and rotate said model or selected parts of said model about at least one axis 4 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged for manipulation by computer software elements US 7 715 929 B2 11 to change a shape of a displayed image and change the scale of the one or more parts of said model so displayed 5 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is changeable with computer software elements to present a visual display comprising a zoom in on and or zoom out from one or more parts of said model so displayed 6 The interface according to claim 1 wherein said model is arranged with computer software elements to displ
19. f the HMI and or steps of the methods according to one or more aspects of the invention This is performed with the aid of one or more computer programs which are stored at least in part in memory accessible by the one or more proces sors It is to be understood that the computer programs car rying out methods according to the invention may also be run on one or more general purpose industrial microprocessors or computers or on one or more specially adapted computers or processors FPGAs field programmable gate arrays or ASICs application specific integrated circuits or other devices such as simple programmable logic devices SPLDs complex programmable logic devices CPLDs field pro grammable system chips FPSCs The computer programs described may also be arranged in part as a distributed appli cation capable of running on several different computers or computer systems at more or less the same time A part of the program may be stored in a processor as above but also in a ROM RAM PROM EPROM or EEPROM chip or similar memory means The program in part or in whole may also be stored locally or centrally on or in other suitable computer readable medium such as a magnetic disk CD ROM or DVD disk hard disk magneto optical memory storage means in volatile memory in flash memory as firmware or stored on a data server Other known and suitable media including removable memory media such as Sony Memory Stick and other remova
20. herein in that said model is a 2 D or 3 D model which is arranged to map from a point on the computer generated model to data held by said control system about the selected at least one part or component of said process control an industrial automation process A secondary aim of the present invention is to provide graphic information manipulate able by an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to a specific equip ment and or device or equipment plant or process by means of selecting and or activating a point on a 2 D or3 D model of the process which point is mappable via setpoints watch points or other data points to execute an instruction to retrieve technical information Another aim is to provide additional information in the form of graphic information manipulate able by an operator to access examine and or carry out con trol actions for a specific equipment plant device or process The above and more aims are achieved according to the invention by a human machine interface and a system accord ing to embodiments of the present invention According to a first aspect of the invention a human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process or equipment comprising a computer generated model of the process displayed is described Infor mation data and or instructions for the process or a part or component of said process are provided by manipulating the HMI 2 D or 3 D model Special po
21. hine interface or the 3D model described above images from the CCTV system of an equipment object or location selected via the HMI or 3D model may be displayed and or CCTV or other cameras may be controlled by manipulating the 3D representation of the plant In other words the 2D and 3D interfaces in control rooms can also be used to control the video streams that are already available There are currently several sources of video streams that are presented in the control room and even more that will be available in the future A known example is Closed Circuit TV CCTV which means video cameras that are distributed throughout the plant for surveillance and over view purposes Another example is wearable cameras that the field operators use in the field for improved communication with control room operators and remote experts These video streams can be called up to view by selecting an object in the 3D or 2D interface and for example choosing to View live video of this object This operation automatically selects the camera that can present this object or alternatively the best view if many cameras can view the object and then manoeu vre this camera so that the chosen object is in view For example when an operator right clicks an object in a process graphic he she can choose to view object in camera which automatically presents a view of the object on a monitor This involves an automatic system for selecting which camera
22. ice team can be viewed by control room operators and a direct communication link with document sharing video and sound can be used to transmit information The control room opera tors can issue work orders to the service team that is closest to the equipment and the work order can be discussed similar to if they were co located The control room personnel can access a 3D model with graphical representations of the ser vice team real time process information historical data bases maintenance records procedure descriptions or manu als and thereby provide better assistance and guidance to service teams Design and Planning an Upgrade of the Plant Task Visualize and simulate operation and integration of new system Industry Process industry There are often spatial constraints and compatibility issues when upgrading or changing process equipment If the con trol room has access to and maintains an updated version ofa 3D model of the process and plant this can be used for planning an upgrade and for examining tenders The 3D model can be examined with and without the suggested upgrade and feasibility compatibility and spatial issues can be discussed and examined visually Both overall compatibil ity and detail specific issues can be examined by zooming abstraction and by interacting with the virtual model Process Control Engineers Aid Field Operators Task Improve process performance at component level Industry Process indus
23. iency considerations of the railroad system a 3D model and or 2 D model can be an efficient means for communica tion and discussion There are severe restrictions on how trains can change tracks and move about on the track system and in large station areas the situation can be very complex and difficult to grasp A 3D model of the tracks and trains can be used to visualize how the trains move between the tracks and to ensure all regulations are followed Certain laws con ditions and restrictions can also be visualized directly in the model e g how much space or time must pass between two consecutive trains between two trains on intersecting tracks and so on In certain circumstances 2 D models may also be used In addition further and advantageous aspects of the inven tion are described in relation to a graphical user interface a computer program for implementing the method and a com puter program product including the computer program BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with particular reference to the accom panying drawings in which FIGS la and 1b are a schematic representations of a dis play of a human machine interface for monitoring and con trolling a process the example shown being of an oil produc tion platform according to an embodiment of the invention FIG 2 is a schematic representation ofa display of a human machine interface showing a
24. ilizing one or more structured text documents 38 The control system according to claim 37 wherein the structured text documents link control system objects to 3D model representations and their physical position orientation 39 The control system according to claim 37 wherein at least one structured text document is generated automatically 40 The control system according to claim 34 further com prising a selector configured to select a part of a human machine interface or 3D object and to display one or more visual or video images of a selected object 41 The control system according to claim 40 further com prising a control configured to control the video images from the control system 42 The control system according to claim 41 wherein the control configured to control the video images from the con trol system comprises a control configured to remotely oper ate pan or tilt or zoom a camera 43 The control system according to claim 34 further com prising an access element configured to provide access to oral communication with an operator by selecting a symbol of the a human machine interface or a 3D model control system 44 The control system according to claim 43 further com prising an access element configured to provide access to oral or audio communication in a given area of an installation by selecting or manipulating a symbol of the a human machine interface or 3D model control system 45 The con
25. ints setpoints or watch points in the model are mapped to the control system The operator activates or selects a device and can retrieve techni cal information send an instruction monitor or configure that device via the interface provided by the 3 D or 3 D graphic model According to a second aspect of the invention a human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a computer generated model of the process displaying said process or a part or component of said process is described for displaying the control system information to one or more remotely located experts for fur ther interaction via the HMI and for further interaction with an original user or operator According to a third aspect of the invention a human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a computer generated model of the process displaying said process or a part or component of said process which generated display information the operator may use to guide him her through the plant or pro cess to a specific location of the specific equipment by means of a 2 D model of the plant or layout and or by means of a 3 D model The general aim of this invention is to provide a fast and efficient way to locate specific process or equipment control data held by a control system The user points to the valve or mixer or press on the model and is routed to the control system informat
26. ion held for that part or device Online real time data setpoints configuration data service history any information associated with that device by the control system may be intuitively found and then retrieved The information obtained may be displayed to a field operator e g an opera tor a service technician a maintenance person OEM a pro cess engineer etc or to a remote person expert other opera tor etc First of all the HMI and the described methods US 7 715 929 B2 3 provide relevant information intuitively and quickly to the field operator for monitoring and interaction with the indus trial process or device The HMI and system herein is described below in detail with respect to an oil and gas platform The HMI described may be used to interface with the control system for other processes or productions processes or automated equipment Brief examples in the form of scenarios for use of the HMI will now be described Service Team Performs Maintenance on Platform Task Service team receives assistance and guidance by con trol room operators Industry Oil amp Gas When the control room can visualize both plant and pro cess as a 3D model both service personnel and control room operators can get detailed local information about locations equipment and components This provides service personnel with improved and more efficient guidance and assistance from control room operators The exact position ofthe serv
27. n presented about the electrical piping etc systems the expert can rapidly identify what has happened to cause the alarm and what if anything ought to be done about it now or later FIG 6 shows schematically a device pressuriser 31 the computer pointer marker 40 and a group of operational facets stored in the control system and associated with the pres US 7 715 929 B2 7 suriser 31 that have been selected so that the pop up 41 is displayed The expert selects eg right clicks etc on different objects such as pressuriser 31 which results in activating a link or address so that associated device relative information such as trend curves user manual service history e g from 800xA a SAP a SCADA system physical location process location electrical schema piping schema etc is available for viewing or retrieval The expert selects a visualisation layer for example People and selects a field operator located close to the pressuriser He opens a communication channel such as by picking up a phone and a connection is set up automatically to the field operator Thus an expert or other qualified user may access informa tion rapidly via the interface comprising the model The user may as described above in relation to FIGS 3a b and c add a layer of information or remove a layer of information in order to examine the context of a device or process or of an alarm or other event from the device etc FIG 7 shows in flowchart f
28. nstalled equipment or devices or systems needs access to documen tation of some kind which may be a manual historical data maintenance history amp repair reports and the like Even though the trend is that parts of such documentation has become electronically available it is often stored in different systems and at different locations Therefore the field opera tors either have to plan information gathering for their work tasks in advance or they have to interrupt ongoing tasks in order to find and then access support information and docu mentation for the installed equipment process or device In addition the process of obtaining information about an alarm or about a device may take considerable time and may require that an operator browses through many databases A considerable amount of time may be necessary to search by name or system identification for information about a device or process In critical or emergency situations it is very important to obtain relevant technical information quickly to avoid material damage to plant to process as well as possible injury to persons in the plant 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary aim of the present invention is to provide human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a computer generated model of the process displaying said process or a part or component of said process w
29. omated applications BACKGROUND ART A technician or a field operator e g in a process plant manufacturing installation at off shore oil and gas platform or at an electrical power transmission or distribution installa tion or substation needs to check on alarms and other events reported by a control system as well as interact with systems or devices in the installed equipment on a daily basis An operator also has to have access to information and documen tation about the process es and the installed equipment However various user interfaces both physical and software interfaces for the installed equipment operating devices and for one or more supervisory control systems and so on are often designed differently so that the field operators have to learn how to use a multitude of different user interfaces The different equipment interfaces may also often be inconsistent with respect to each other U S Pat No 5 032 978 to Westinghouse entitled Status tree monitoring and display system describes a display a display method and an apparatus are disclosed which produce a summary display depicting function states using discrete state bars centered in one window of a two window display The display is presented to solve a problem that in many complex processes the operator is confronted with a vast amount of information that must be analyzed before appro priate action can be taken The field operator as well as interacting with i
30. on nel remote experts and administrative personnel can commu nicate orally through telephone mobile phones UHF VHF Radio systems and Public Address and Alarm PA amp A systems In another further preferred embodiment such known audio system or systems in an industrial or oil and gas instal 0 20 35 40 45 60 65 10 lation can be connected to the control system and the 3D representation such that these audio systems can be con trolled by manipulating the 3D representation of the plant Examples of such use can be to automatically dial a field operator by clicking on the avatar or symbol representing the operator in the 3D or 2D interface and also selecting the preferred communication means if more than one is possible Furthermore the operator can also select directly in the 3D interface which areas to dispatch a message over the PA amp A system to This can be very effective and powerful when combined with a 3D representation of a gas leakage for example In such a situation information about which gas detectors have gone into alarm state combined with knowledge of escape routes and possibly also metrological information can be used to select which areas should be notified with the alarm warning message An advantage of generating this informa tion from other non audio information accessed by the HMI or 3D model is that an operator may activate communications such as UHF VHF transmissions or loudspe
31. on current events the operator may return to the control system 97 signs off that he she has noted the warning and records text voice or other comments in the record for that component A3 D model may be based on one or more CAD drawings of the plant or process A 3 D or 2 D model may be based in part on electrical piping or wiring schemas or layouts A 3D or 2 D model is preferably layered such that layers of infor mation may be added or stripped Such layers may represent functional groupings such as electrical schemas process flow physical location utilities and services air water flow and so on The model may be arranged for computer control for operations such as fly through spinning 3D viewing zooming The 3 D model is somewhat related to the computer generated virtual reality developments but applied to solving industrial problems Data points in the 3 D or 2 D model are associated with devices sensors nodes and so on that are connected to or otherwise controlled by one or more control systems The association may be arranged within one or more computer programs by using setpoints by monitoring watchpoints or by other means The data may be arranged based on wire frame data constructs with or without surface rendering tech niques 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 One or more microprocessors or processors or computers comprise a central processing unit CPU performing the func tions o
32. orm how a specialist or expert may use the inter face to examine an alarm and gather current and or historic technical information relevant to the alarm FIG 7 shows then a flowchart wherein an alarm is reported 81 on the display of HMI an expert or other user selects to go to 82 the alarm and the HMI can automatically zoom in 83 on the part of the process where the alarm has come from The expert can retrieve further information about the alarm by clicking on the alarm 84 The expert can record comments 85 text video clip animation clip voice etc via the HMI The expert may then access more information about the process part or device related to the alarm to obtain service history 86 trends performance data production data manuals other documentation and so on The expert may then with access to any of the information in the control system that is associated with the process alarm or device alarm make a judgement 87 and then for example contact staff on site 88 or remote to investigate or otherwise act FIG 8 is a flowchart showing another use of the HMI An operator may switch from the process control system to the HMI For example as summarised an operator gets a warning 91 on the control system The operator reads the warning 95 and will obtain additional technical data The operator switches 96 to the HMI and model and gathers for example an overview of other active alarms and events After examin ing the other information
33. r A human machine interface of a control system for monitor 1 2005 ing and control of a process and including a computer gener ated model of the process The process or a part or component 51 Int Cl of the process is displayed such that the model is arranged to G05B 15 02 2006 01 map a point on the computer generated model to data held by G05B 13 01 2006 01 the control system about the at least one part or component of GO5B 15 00 2006 01 the process A method to monitor and control a process using G05B 23 02 2006 01 the human machine interface and a system including the GO06F 3 048 2006 01 interface are also described 52 USCh eens 700 17 700 9 700 83 340 3 1 715 757 715 848 47 Claims 5 Drawing Sheets U S Patent May 11 2010 Sheet 1 of 5 US 7 715 929 B2 Fig 1a Fig 1b 1 31 9 30 34 3233 5a 31 30 32 33 5b Fig 2 Fig 3a U S Patent May 11 2010 Sheet 2 of 5 US 7 715 929 B2 Fig 3b Fig 3c Alarm LIN XN Fig 4 Fig 5 U S Patent May 11 2010 Sheet 3 of 5 US 7 715 929 B2 Trend Manual Service hist Location People Electrical Safety Function Fig 6 U S Patent May 11 2010 Sheet 4 of 5 US 7 715 929 B2 81 Alarm reported on HMI interface of a process 82 Expert selects go to alarm 83 f HMI display view zooms in automatically on alarm Exper activates eg clicks a part of the model displayed to see a description of the alarm 84 Expert records additional comments a
34. s text 85 and or sound voice or screen dumps etc Expert activates eg clicks on a part of the 86 model to select eg service history trends Expert examines retrieved information 87 determines what problem the alarm describes and or which solution s to apply Expert contacts operators s to investigate and or solve alarm 88 Fig 7 U S Patent May 11 2010 Sheet 5 of 5 US 7 715 929 B2 91 Warning reported in control system of a process 93 Operator selects the warning 95 Operator reads description of warning in control system 96 Operator switches eg clicks to HMI and model to see overview of all alarms and warnings Operator returns to control system signs for warning and records additional comments as text and or sound eg voice 97 Fig 8 US 7 715 929 B2 1 HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE FOR A CONTROL SYSTEM CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U S provisional patent application 60 667 080 filed 1 Apr 2005 TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention concerns a human machine interface for a system for control and or monitoring of an industrial process automated equipment ora device The invention may be applied in many fields such as oil and gas electricity generation transmission distribution as well as in industry The invention may be applied to monitoring control and or programming ofan industrial robot for robotic and aut
35. sions to connect the objects in a 3D model of the plant to the corresponding objects in the control system This is especially advantageous for those cases where part of the engineering is done in CAD programs In these cases there is an existing 3D model of the plant Such 3D model or models can either be used directly or be used as reference for a 3D model that can be at used run time Both the linkage between 3D objects and control system objects as well as the location and orientation of each piece of equipment can be automatically entered into the structured text format from these models Thus the information stored in the structured text format can be populated automatically from engineering tools Another advantage of use of structured text to link 3D models to control object information is that it reduces the time US 7 715 929 B2 9 and cost of configuring a system Another advantage is that manual input errors associated with manually configuring links to the 3D model are eliminated In another preferred embodiment controls for the CCTV systems commonly used in some industrial installations such as oil and gas plants may be integrated into the industrial control system Thus it may be efficiently arranged to access aCCTV system and display pictures and video images for an equipment object or location by arranged the CCTV system as integrated into the industrial control system Thus by oper ating a control means of the human mac
36. ting for selection a group of information structures holding operational data about different facets of the at least one part or component of said process 25 The method according to claim 22 further comprising presenting for selection a list of information sources struc tures holding real time or historic operational data about different facets of the at least one part or component of said process 26 The method according to claim 22 further comprising presenting on the display information of a warning or alarm that has occurred in respect of the at least one part or component of said process 27 The method according to claim 22 further comprising presenting on a display a selection element configured to receive and or display a warning or alarm that has occu pied in respect of the at least one part or component of said process US 7 715 929 B2 13 28 The method according to claim 22 further comprising manipulating the model to automatically display the at least one part or component of said process for which a warning or alarm has been signalled 29 The method according to claim 22 further comprising manipulating the model to automatically display the at least one part or component of said process for which a warning or alarm has been signalled 30 The method according to claim 22 further comprising manipulating the model to add or remove a layer of opera tional information associated with the at least on
37. trol system according to claim 44 wherein the access element comprises oral or audio elements Public Alarm amp Address devices and or loudspeakers 46 The control system according to claim 43 wherein the access element comprises a UHF VHF radio or phone or portable phone 47 A human machine interface of a control system for monitoring and control of a process comprising a display and a three dimensional computer generated model of equip ment plant or device for carrying out said process or a part or component of said process the model being displayed on the display and comprising a plurality of selectively displayed layers superimposed on the three dimensional model the layers comprising information US 7 715 929 B2 15 regarding elements of the equipment plant device or process said elements of said layers being displayed in a position in said model corresponding to a physical location of the respective elements wherein the operator may zoom into and out of the model or alter an orienta tion of the model wherein said model maps a point on the computer generated model to data held by said con trol system about the equipment plant or device or at least one part or component of said process wherein said model comprises graphic information manipulatable by 5 16 an operator to retrieve examine and use in direct relation to the equipment plant device or process by selecting a point on the model which point
38. try Access to a 3D model with advanced interaction possibili ties can help process control engineers in communicating with field operators control room operators subcontractors and other involved parties Operators in Control Room Supervise Field Operators Task Supervise field operators assist and issue work orders when necessary Industry Process industry The presence of field operators and other personnel on the plant floor is often perceived as a stress factor for control room operators This is because the control room operators do not know the exact position and status of these people and direct communication is not always possible A 3D model of the plant with avatars representing the exact position of all 35 40 45 50 55 60 4 personnel can reduce this stress Furthermore advanced information and communication technology can establish efficient multi modal communication channels quickly The 3D model of the plant can also aid operators in assisting personnel on the plant floor or when communicating with external or remote experts The 3D model can give detailed information about the immediate surroundings of the field operator that needs assistance for example by highlighting the electric system pipelines valves pumps or other relevant components Production Managers Ensuring High Process Performance Task Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in current pro duction system Industry Oil amp G
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