Graphical process variable trend monitoring with zoom features for use in a process control system

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.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to process control systems and, more particularly, to monitoring trends of process variables and graphical navigation of hierarchies of process control plants. Background technique [0002] Process plants (such as those used in the chemical, petroleum, or other industries) typically include one or more centralized or decentralized process controllers that communicate via an analog, digital, or combined analog / digital bus to at least one host or operating A worker station and one or more process control and instrumentation devices (eg, field devices) are communicatively coupled. Field devices can be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches, transmitters, and sensors (eg, temperature, pressure, and flow rate sensors) for performing in-process functions such as increasing or decreasing flow rate and measuring process parameters. Process controllers receive signals representing process measurements or proc...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Optionally, the operator may have too much detail when viewing multiple process variable trend graphs, when attempting to compare current process variable values ​​to set point information, etc.

In addition, detailed information sources may not be integrated with the P&ID and may require control over the various levels of information the operator sees of detail distributed across multiple separate windows or screens

Having too little or too much detail will cause the control operator to make incomplete or slow decisions respectively, which can cause serious consequences during critical events or cycles

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