HMI Status Display Generator for Permissive Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators in industrial automation systems face difficulties in diagnosing why desired commands issued through HMIs are being prevented due to complex system dependencies, requiring extensive knowledge and often necessitating manual intervention by engineers or maintenance personnel.
Innovation Solution
An enhanced operation diagnostics system that provides a summary of operational conditions associated with a control action, using a status display generator to analyze the control program and generate a checklist of necessary conditions and their statuses, allowing operators to easily identify and correct missing conditions without custom code development.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If operators manually diagnose command failures using existing HMI screens, then they can identify some system conditions, but the complex system dependencies make it difficult to ascertain why commands are prevented from executing, requiring extensive knowledge and manual intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex system dependencies into individual checkable conditions organized in a hierarchical checklist structure. Each condition is broken down into discrete elements that can be independently evaluated, allowing operators to systematically work through potential causes rather than attempting to understand the entire complex system at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically generating the diagnostic checklist before the operator begins troubleshooting. The system pre-identifies all relevant conditions, permissives, and interlocks that could prevent command execution, organizing them in a logical sequence. This eliminates the need for operators to manually navigate through complex system configurations during the diagnostic process.
2Loss of information
If custom display screens are developed to show condition summaries, then operators can see all necessary conditions and their statuses, but this increases development time and adds complexity to the HMI application
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the HMI application to automatically generate and maintain diagnostic checklists without requiring custom code development. The system uses existing control program elements, permissive definitions, and interlock configurations to dynamically create the checklist display, allowing the application to serve its own diagnostic needs using native functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal diagnostic checklist structure that can be applied to any command or module in the control system. Rather than developing custom displays for each specific command, a single flexible checklist template adapts to different contexts by pulling relevant conditions from the associated control program, making the solution broadly applicable across the entire HMI application.
3Measurement precision
If engineers manually track missing permissives in the control program, then they can identify the root cause of command failures, but this necessitates manual intervention by engineers or maintenance personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by automatically monitoring the status of all conditions, permissives, and interlocks associated with a command and presenting this information directly to the operator. The system continuously evaluates whether each condition is satisfied or violated and provides real-time feedback through the checklist display, eliminating the need for operators to manually trace through control program logic to identify root causes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary diagnostic checklist that mediates between the complex control program logic and the operator. Rather than requiring operators to directly interpret control program instructions, permissive definitions, and interlock configurations, the checklist translates these elements into a user-friendly format that clearly indicates which conditions are preventing command execution and what actions are needed to resolve them.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided that dynamically render permissive status information on a human-machine interface (HMI) to inform an operator of conditions that are preventing an issued control command from executing. A status display generator deployed on the HMI can be associated with a control action to be initiated in a control program via the HMI. The control action can have one or more programmed conditions or permissives that must be satisfied before the control action can be initiated. Operators wishing to review the states of the various conditions can invoke the status display generator, which reads the conditions and their respective statuses from the control program and generates a permissive summary display listing the conditions together with their respective “ready” or “not ready” states. The permissive summary display provides a convenient reference that allows the operator to quickly assess what actions must be taken to place the system in the appropriate state to execute the desired control action.