Instrument Status Display Using Installation Time Marks

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional instrument status displaying systems fail to account for alert statuses produced by instruments that are temporarily disconnected during maintenance or inspections, as these alerts are not displayed when a higher hierarchical instrument is disconnected, leading to missed alerts from lower hierarchical instruments during reconnection.

Innovation Solution

An instrument status displaying device and method that acquires installation and alert event information to determine a display format for indicators, allowing the display of alert statuses for disconnected instruments by using installation time marks and alert event information stored in databases, enabling the display of alerts that occurred during disconnection periods.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of repair

If instruments are temporarily disconnected for maintenance or inspections, then maintenance operations can be performed, but alert statuses produced during disconnection are not displayed on the control screen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemaintenance operationVSAvoidalert status information

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of repairVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by recording alert statuses in advance before disconnection occurs. The alert status acquisition portion continuously monitors and stores alert information in the database during normal operation, so that when disconnection happens, the previously recorded alert information is already available for display after reconnection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A database serves as an intermediary between the alert status acquisition portion and the display portion. The database stores alert status information during disconnection periods and transmits it to the display portion after reconnection, enabling the display of alert statuses that occurred during the disconnection interval without requiring continuous system connection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If alert statuses are displayed only for currently connected instruments, then the control screen shows real-time status, but historical alert statuses from disconnected instruments are not visible

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereal-time status accuracyVSAvoidhistorical alert status

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by recording alert statuses in advance before disconnection occurs. The alert status acquisition portion continuously monitors and stores alert information in the database during normal operation, so that when disconnection happens, the previously recorded alert information is already available for display after reconnection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a copy of the alert status information and stores it in the database. This copied data can be retrieved and displayed after disconnection without affecting the real-time monitoring of currently connected instruments, thus preserving both real-time accuracy and historical information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Productivity

If the system displays only current alert statuses, then the display is simple and fast, but it cannot show alert statuses from instruments during disconnection intervals

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedisplay speedVSAvoiddisconnection period alerts

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by recording alert statuses in advance before disconnection occurs. The alert status acquisition portion continuously monitors and stores alert information in the database during normal operation, so that when disconnection happens, the previously recorded alert information is already available for display after reconnection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8803702B2Instrument status displaying device and instrument status displaying method

Publication Date: 2014.08.12 AZBIL CORP

AI summary

An instrument status display displaying on a screen, in a tree format, respective indicators corresponding to instruments controlled in a hierarchical structure, having an installation time mark acquiring portion acquiring, as an applicable installation time mark, a time mark that is nearest to a reference time mark without being later than the reference time mark, where the time mark is a time mark for the connection of an instrument, from an installation/removal event history database; an alert event acquiring portion acquiring alert event information notified from an instrument over the interval from the applicable installation time mark, acquired by the installation time mark acquiring portion, up until the reference time mark; a display formatter determining a display format of an indicator based on alert event information; and a displaying portion displaying, on a screen, an indicator in a display format determined by the display formatter.