Hierarchical Alarm Identifier Decomposition for Mass Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current graphic alarm displays in technical plants require costly project-specific configuration and fail to provide an intuitive overview of complex process states, especially when dealing with multiple alarms, leading to high planning costs and inefficient visualization.
Innovation Solution
A display system that uses hierarchically structured identifiers to decompose measurement points into levels of significance, assigning them to preconfigured areas in a mass alarm display unit, allowing for dynamic visualization and grouping of alarms, reducing configuration costs and enhancing human perception of complex states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If individual display elements are separately configured and arranged for each measured value, then the alarm display can represent specific process states accurately, but the planning cost and configuration complexity increase considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a standardized mass alarm display template that can be reused across multiple plants and measurement points. Instead of configuring individual display elements for each measured value, a single universal template serves multiple functions across different technical plants, eliminating the need for project-specific configuration while maintaining accurate alarm representation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the alarm display into a standardized template structure that can be independently configured and then reused. The display template is divided into functional components (alarm indicators, measurement point references, graphical representations) that can be assembled systematically, reducing the overall configuration complexity while maintaining precision in alarm representation.
2Loss of information
If a large number of display elements are arranged for mass alarm display, then the overall plant situation can be visualized, but the plant driver cannot gain an overview due to the large number of detailed information items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual alarm display elements into a unified mass alarm display template. Instead of presenting numerous separate display elements for each alarm, the template consolidates them into a coherent graphical representation that maintains all necessary information while providing a clear overview of the overall plant situation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a one-dimensional list of alarm text to a two-dimensional graphical representation in the mass alarm display template. This dimensional change allows multiple alarm information items to be presented simultaneously in a spatially organized manner, enabling operators to grasp the overall situation at a glance without being overwhelmed by detailed text information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If project-specific configuration is used for each measured value, then the alarm display can be precisely adapted to the plant topology, but preconfigured displays cannot function for multiple plants without prior adaptation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal mass alarm display template that can be deployed across multiple technical plants without plant-specific adaptation. The template is designed to accommodate different plant topologies and measurement points through parameterization, allowing the same display structure to serve multiple functions across different installations, thereby improving deployment efficiency while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes to enable the universal template to adapt to different plants. Instead of reconfiguring the display structure for each plant, the template accepts plant-specific parameters (such as measurement point identifiers and graphical representations) that can be changed without altering the underlying display architecture, allowing rapid deployment across multiple plants.
4Measurement precision
If dedicated display elements are used for isolated alarm representation, then individual alarm reports can be clearly identified, but the configuration cost increases for each specific process measured value
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a single standardized display template that can represent multiple alarm reports without requiring separate configuration for each alarm. The template maintains clear alarm identification through its structured design while eliminating the need for costly project-specific configuration of individual display elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A display system includes a processing device for graphic representation of alarm reports from measured values of a technical plant or process. Measurement points of the measured values each respectively have a hierarchically structured identifier held in the processing device. The processing device decomposes the hierarchically structured identifiers into hierarchical levels of different significance, selects the identifiers of the hierarchical levels with the highest significance, and transmits them to a preconfigured mass alarm display unit. The identifiers of the hierarchical levels with the highest significance can be assigned to a correspondingly identified area within an overview image of the plant or process of the preconfigured mass alarm display unit. The alarm reports which are generated from the measured values can be represented graphically, taking into account the generated assignment of the identifier of the measurement points to the correspondingly identified area within the overview image of the plant or process.