Multistate Alert Icons for Security Device Topology Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security systems cannot effectively convey multiple alert information from security devices through icons, leading to increased operator effort and response time, as icons typically display a single indication for alert conditions regardless of the number of alerts active, making it difficult to determine the number and type of alerts without additional navigation and selection steps.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of icons with multiple features to indicate different alert information from security devices, including inner status regions for device state and outer alert regions with segments or images representing alert information, allowing operators to view the number of active alerts at a glance, with details revealed through tooltips upon user indication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If icons display a single indication for alert conditions, then the user interface remains simple and uncluttered, but operators cannot determine the number and type of alerts without additional navigation
Solution Approach 1:
The icon is segmented into multiple visual regions: an inner status region displaying device state and an outer alert region displaying alert information. The outer alert region is further divided into multiple segments, each representing a different alert type. This segmentation allows the icon to convey multiple alert details simultaneously without cluttering the interface, as each segment can be visually distinguished and counted by the operator.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-indication icon to a multi-dimensional icon structure that displays alert information in multiple spatial dimensions within the icon itself. The inner and outer regions, along with multiple alert segments arranged in different orientations or positions, provide a dimensional expansion of information display within the compact icon format, allowing operators to perceive multiple alert types at a glance.
2Device complexity
If icons show only a single alert indication, then the icon design remains simple, but operators must perform additional navigation and selection steps to view alert details
Solution Approach 1:
The icon is divided into functional segments: an inner status region for device state and an outer alert region for alert information. The outer region contains multiple discrete segments representing different alert types, allowing operators to immediately identify the number and types of alerts without navigation. This segmentation reduces response time while maintaining relatively simple icon design through standardized regional structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The icon structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays device state, indicates the presence of alerts, specifies the number of alerts, and identifies alert types all within a single visual element. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional navigation steps, directly reducing operator response time without requiring complex icon designs, as each function is integrated into the standardized icon structure.
3Loss of information
If multiple alert information is displayed on icons, then operators can identify alert details at a glance, but the user interface becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface complexity is managed through segmentation of the icon into standardized inner and outer regions, with the outer region further segmented into distinct alert segments. This segmentation organizes multiple alert information types in a structured manner that is easy to parse visually, maintaining interface simplicity while providing complete alert information. The segmented structure allows operators to quickly identify and count different alert types without overwhelming complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the icon have specialized local qualities: the inner region handles device state with specific visual characteristics, while the outer region handles alert information with distinct visual characteristics for each alert type. This local quality differentiation allows multiple alert information types to be displayed clearly without creating overall interface complexity, as each local region is optimized for its specific function with consistent visual language.
Data Source
AI summary
A security system, system user interface, and method for displaying status information from security devices in a networked security system using a multistate alert user interface. The security system supports different features in icons associated with the security devices, displayed on a graphical user interface. This provides operators with the ability to display status information from security devices, such as alert information comprising one or more alerts, by displaying the icons on a topology map of the graphical user interface. In this way, the operator can determine at a glance the number and type of alert information from the topology map without the need to perform additional selection and navigation steps within the graphical user interface.