Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Device for a Fire Detection Control Panel and / or a Security Control Panel

Abstract

The present invention relates to a human-machine interface (HMI) device (10) for a fire detection control panel and / or a security control panel (30). The HMI device (10) is subdivided into sections, and each section is associated with a respective functionality of the fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30). The HMI device (10) is configured to: generate digital visual representations of the functionalities of the fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30); receive information relating to one or more useful functionalities from among those functionalities of the fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30); and display only the sections that contain the digital visual representations associated with one or more useful functionalities, based on the aforementioned information. Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Device for a Fire Detection Control Panel and / or a Security Control Panel

[0001] The present invention relates to a human-machine interface device (called, in short form, an HMI device, where "HMI" is the English acronym for Human Machine Interface).

[0002] The HMI device according to the invention is particularly, but not exclusively, useful and practical for a fire detection control center and / or for a security control center.

[0003] In the context of the invention, "security control unit" means a monitoring and security control unit in which one or more HMI devices are present which allow both monitoring and action on the controls of a system such as, for example, a fire detection system.

[0004] As is known, typical HMI devices for a control unit such as those mentioned above are divided into sections (or parts), and each section is equipped with one or more signaling indicators (e.g., LEDs, Light Emitting Diodes) and one or more action buttons. These sections can be of different dimensions and contain a variable number of indicators and buttons from one section to another.

[0005] Although useful and practical, the aforementioned known HMI devices are not without drawbacks, among which is that they are rather cumbersome for an operator to manage.

[0006] Normally, in order to operate a known HMI device such as those described above, the operator affixes numerous adhesive labels made of paper or a similar material to said HMI device, and each label includes a reference to a respective function of the corresponding control unit. For example, each label may include the name of its respective function, so as to allow the operator to recognize it. Furthermore, in order to avoid any confusion, the operator typically uses adhesive labels or other covering means to mask the indicators and / or buttons of sections of the HMI device that are not used.

[0007] However, affixing labels such as those mentioned above is a tedious operation, resulting in time losses that increase with the complexity of the control unit, and therefore with the number of sections of the HMI device. Furthermore, given that the increase in said complexity and said The number of sections leads to an increase in the number of labels to be affixed to the HMI device; the increase in said complexity and said number leads to a growing risk of confusion and / or errors on the part of the operator.

[0008] The main object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the limitations of the prior art presented above by developing an HMI device for a fire detection control center and / or a security control center which makes it possible to obtain better effects than those which can be obtained with known solutions and / or similar effects at a lower cost and with higher performance.

[0009] In accordance with this object, the present invention aims to design an HMI device for a fire detection control center and / or a security control center that is simpler, and at the same time safer, to manage by an operator.

[0010] The present invention has another purpose of simplifying a procedure for associating the different sections of an HMI device with the respective functionalities of a fire detection control panel and / or a security control panel.

[0011] The present invention has the further objective of developing an HMI device for a fire detection control center and / or a security control center which reduces the risk of confusion, and therefore of errors, by the operator during the use of the HMI device.

[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to produce an HMI device for a fire detection control center and / or a security control center which is highly reliable, relatively simple to produce and economically competitive compared to the prior art.

[0013] This object, as well as the other goals and objectives that will become clearer upon reading the following description, are achieved by a human-machine interface (HMI) device for a fire detection control panel and / or a security control panel. The HMI device is subdivided into sections, each section being associated with a respective function of the fire detection control panel and / or security control panel. The HMI device is configured to:

[0014] - generate digital visual representations of the functionalities of the control unit fire detection and / or security control panel;

[0015] - receive information relating to one or more useful functionalities among the functionalities of the fire detection control panel and / or security control panel; and

[0016] - show only the sections that contain the visual representations digital tools associated with said tools include one or more useful functionalities, based on the information.

[0017] According to one feature, the HMI device is further configured to mask the remaining sections of the HMI device.

[0018] According to another feature, the HMI device is further configured to show one or more colored indicators associated with said one or more useful features.

[0019] For example, the HMI device is further configured to show one or more labels associated with said one or more useful features.

[0020] Preferably, the sections associated with said one or more useful features have a background color different from the remaining sections of the HMI device.

[0021] Advantageously, the HMI device is further configured to:

[0022] - duplicate the digital visual representations associated with said one or several useful features, so as to obtain several groups of digital visual representations, said groups being identical to each other;

[0023] - show a first group among said groups in a first section among the said sections; and

[0024] - show a second group among said groups in a second section among said sections.

[0025] For example, the HMI device is further configured to automatically enable or disable duplication of the digital visual representations associated with said one or more useful features.

[0026] According to another feature, the HMI device is further configured to communicate with said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel via a communication bus of said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel.

[0027] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the HMI device according to the invention, illustrated by way of example and not limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] [Fig. 1] [Fig. 1] is a schematic representation in which an embodiment of the HMI device according to the invention is operationally connected to a fire detection control panel and / or a security control panel; and

[0029] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a front view of an embodiment of the HMI device according to the invention.

[0030] In the figures cited, the HMI device according to the present invention is designated globally by the reference number 10, while the reference number 30 designates a fire detection control center and / or a security control center to which said HMI device 10 is operationally connected, and therefore with which it can communicate.

[0031] Hereafter, the expression "central 30" will be used to refer indifferently to the fire detection central and / or the security central which are described above.

[0032] According to some preferred embodiments, the HMI device 10 is configured to communicate with the control unit 30 via a communication bus 35 of said control unit 30. However, alternative embodiments can also be designed in which data communication between the HMI device 10 and the control unit 30 can take place via a different means of communication (for example, via wireless communication).

[0033] According to each embodiment, the HMI device 10 is subdivided into sections 12. The number of sections 12 varies as required. In practice, although ten sections 12 are visible in [Fig. 1], according to other embodiments, the number of sections 12 may be different from ten (for example, thirteen, fifteen or sixteen).

[0034] Each section 12 is associated with a respective function of the control unit 30. In practice, each section 12 is linked to a respective function, of remote signaling, or other functionality of the control unit 30.

[0035] According to each embodiment, the HMI device 10 is configured to generate digital visual representations 14, 16, 18 of the functionalities of the control unit 30.

[0036] These digital visual representations 14, 16, 18 may include one or more of the following:

[0037] - digital indicators, typically colored (for example, buttons 14, of virtual LEDs 16 and / or background colours relating to respective functions of the control unit 30);

[0038] - numeric labels (for example, text strings 18 that can define the respective functionalities of the control unit 30);

[0039] - numerical representations of another type (for example, symbols which may indicate respective functionalities of the control unit 30).

[0040] Advantageously, the HMI 10 device is further configured to:

[0041] - receive information relating to one or more useful features among the aforementioned functionalities of the control unit 30; and

[0042] - show only sections 12 which contain the visual representations numerical 14, 16, 18 associated with the said one or more useful functionalities, on the basis of the said information (that is to say on the basis of the information received).

[0043] In practice, once programmed and connected to the control unit 30, the HMI device 10 can receive data relating to each function of the control unit 30.

[0044] However, the HMI 10 device processes this data in such a way as to display only the information relating to useful functionalities, thus "filtering" all the information relating to features that are not useful to the operator. In this way, the HMI 10 device can (be configured to) hide each non-useful section (in other words, each of the remaining 12 sections) of the HMI 10 device.

[0045] According to some preferred embodiments, the HMI device 10 is further configured to show one or more colored indicators (for example, virtual LEDs 16) associated with said one or more useful features.

[0046] In addition or alternatively, the HMI device 10 can (be further configured to) show one or more labels (for example, text strings 18) associated with said one or more useful features.

[0047] Preferably, the sections 12 associated with one or more useful features have a background color different from the remaining sections 12 of the HMI device 10. For example, the sections 12 associated with one or more useful features may have a blue background, while the remaining sections 12 (i.e. the non-useful sections) may have a black background.

[0048] Advantageously, according to certain preferred embodiments, the HMI 10 device is further configured to:

[0049] - duplicate the digital visual representations associated with said one or several useful features, so as to obtain several groups of digital visual representations that are identical to each other;

[0050] - show a first group among said groups in a first section among Sections 12; and

[0051] - show a second group among said groups in a second section among the section 12.

[0052] In this way, it is possible to obtain redundancy of the information shown, thus minimizing the risk of errors on the part of the operator.

[0053] Preferably, the HMI 10 device is further configured to automatically enable or disable duplication of the digital visual representations associated with said one or more useful functionalities. However, embodiments can also be designed in which this type of duplication can be enabled and / or disabled manually.

[0054] According to some preferred embodiments, the buttons 14 are virtual. However, some regulations prohibit the use of virtual buttons. Therefore, alternative embodiments are also conceivable, in which:

[0055] - the buttons 14 are of a physical type, and in particular are pushbuttons; and

[0056] - any useful functionality associated with each physical button is described using of a respective digital label (analogous to digital labels 18, possibly in association with virtual LEDs 16).

[0057] Consequently, digital labels such as those described above can be advantageously used as indicators of one or more of the following:

[0058] - at least one feature associated with a respective section 12 (for example " Ground floor fire door” or “Fan start no. 23”);

[0059] - at least one function associated with a respective LED 16 (for example, "Mode "Sleep" or "Evacuation"); and / or

[0060] - at least one function associated with a respective button (or push button) 14 (by example "Activation of the general evacuation alarm").

[0061] It has been observed in practice that the present invention fully satisfies the predefined object and objectives. In particular, it has been seen that the HMI device thus designed is simpler and safer to operate than known HMI devices, thereby overcoming the qualitative limitations of the prior art.

[0062] The HMI device according to the invention has the advantage of saving the operator time by minimizing the manual operations required by the operator. This advantage is particularly important given that control units such as those described above may require the use of a large number of HMI devices.

[0063] An additional advantage of the HMI device according to the invention is the reduction of the risk of errors on the part of the operator.

[0064] Another advantage of the HMI device according to the invention is high versatility.

[0065] In practice, the HMI device can be reprogrammed from time to time (in particular by means of suitable software), as needed, and this reprogramming capability saves the operator from having to redo each time a manual association work between the various sections of the HMI device and the respective functionalities of the connected control unit.

[0066] It is possible to make numerous modifications and variations to the invention thus conceived, without departing from the scope of the annexed claims.

[0067] Unless otherwise specified, the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments and / or variants thereof. Furthermore, this description covers combinations of variants and preferred embodiments not explicitly described.

[0068] In addition, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

[0069] In practice, the materials used, provided they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions and potential shapes, may be of any kind, according to the requirements and the state of the art.

[0070] In conclusion, the scope of protection of the claims should not be limited by the figures or preferred embodiments illustrated in the description by way of example, but the claims should rather include all patentable novelty features found in the present invention, including all features that could be considered equivalent by a person skilled in the art.

Claims

Demands

1. Human-machine interface device, HMI, (10) for a fire detection control panel and / or a security control panel (30), said HMI device (10) being subdivided into sections (12), each section (12) being associated with a respective functionality of said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30), said HMI device (10) being configured to: - generate digital visual representations (14, 16, 18) of said functionalities of said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel; - receive information relating to one or more useful functionalities among said functionalities of said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30); and - show only the sections (12) which contain the digital visual representations (14, 16, 18) associated with said one or more useful functionalities, based on said information.

2. HMI device (10) according to claim 1, further configured to mask the remaining sections (12) of said HMI device (10).

3. HMI device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further configured to show one or more colored indicators (14, 16) associated with said one or more useful features.

4. HMI device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further configured to show one or more labels (18) associated with said one or more useful features.

5. HMI device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sections (12) associated with said one or more useful features have a background color different from the remaining sections (12) of said HMI device (10).

6. HMI device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further configured to: - duplicate the digital visual representations (14, 16, 18) associated with said one or more useful functionalities, so as to obtain several groups of digital visual representations (14, 16, 18), said groups being identical to each other; - show a first group among said groups in a first section among said sections (12); and - show a second group among said groups in a second section among said sections (12).

7. HMI device (10) according to claim 6, further configured to automatically enable or disable a duplication of the digital visual representations (14, 16, 18) associated with said one or more useful features.

8. HMI device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further configured to communicate with said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30) via a communication bus (35) of said fire detection control panel and / or security control panel (30).

Images