Industrial Device Location Visualization for Active Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large and complex industrial automation systems, it is difficult for maintenance personnel to efficiently locate industrial automation devices due to the systems' scale and complexity, often requiring time-consuming reference to hardcopy diagrams, which hinders maintenance operations.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system that communicates with industrial automation devices and a database to identify devices with active maintenance status, retrieve location datasets, and generate visualizations that display maintenance and location information, including device maps and action cards, to facilitate quick identification and navigation within the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If maintenance personnel manually reference hardcopy diagrams to locate industrial automation devices, then they can obtain location information, but the process becomes time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the physical facility layout and device locations through a database system. Instead of manually searching hardcopy diagrams, the system stores and retrieves location data in digital format, allowing rapid access to device positions through electronic interfaces without physically handling paper diagrams.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of manually searching through hardcopy diagrams with an automated electronic system. The monitoring system automatically queries the database for device locations and presents the information through electronic displays or interfaces, eliminating the manual mechanical search process.
2Loss of information
If the industrial automation system maintains detailed location datasets for all devices, then location information is available, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal database system that serves multiple functions: storing location data, retrieving device information, supporting maintenance operations, and providing a basis for various queries. This single multi-functional system replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate systems or processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a database as an intermediary layer between the physical devices and the monitoring system. The database stores location datasets that map devices to their physical locations, acting as a mediator that translates device identifiers into location information without requiring direct complex communication between monitoring systems and physical infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are techniques related to an industrial system that may have a plurality of industrial automation devices, a database that has a plurality of location datasets that correspond to the plurality of industrial automation devices, and a monitoring system that may communicate with the industrial automation devices via a network and the database. The monitoring system may send a first request to the industrial automation devices in the industrial system to identify an industrial automation device having an active maintenance status. The active maintenance status may be indicative of a maintenance request for the industrial automation device. The monitoring system may send a second request to the database for a location dataset associated with the industrial automation device, generate a visualization that includes the active maintenance status and the location dataset associated with the industrial automation device, and display the visualization via an electronic display.