Navigation Tree Display for Industrial Apparatus Information
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complex industrial plants require efficient methods for displaying and navigating apparatus information, often resulting in large and cluttered master displays that complicate user navigation and information management.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a navigation tree structure with interlinked nodes to display apparatus information, allowing for automatic identification and display of relevant information, enabling compact and intuitive navigation, and facilitating the display of information on a smaller device without the need for extensive master displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If large master displays are used to display all apparatus information of complex plants, then complete information coverage is achieved, but device complexity and navigation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the complex plant monitoring system into hierarchical segments: a navigation tree with superordinate and subordinate nodes, and multiple subordinate displays. Each node represents a specific apparatus or apparatus group, allowing information to be organized in manageable segments rather than displayed all at once on a single large master display.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional flat master display to a multi-dimensional hierarchical navigation tree structure. The navigation tree adds a vertical dimension of hierarchy (superordinate nodes to subordinate nodes), while subordinate displays provide additional spatial dimensions for displaying detailed apparatus information, effectively distributing information across multiple display planes.
2Loss of information
If detailed apparatus information is displayed on large master displays, then information completeness is improved, but ease of operation and navigation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation tree segments the plant hierarchy into manageable nodes that users can navigate through systematically. Each node can be expanded or collapsed to show only the necessary level of detail, allowing users to navigate efficiently without being overwhelmed by the entire plant structure at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation tree acts as an intermediary between the user and the detailed apparatus information. Instead of directly accessing all information on a large master display, users navigate through the navigation tree structure, which mediates access to subordinate displays containing detailed apparatus information, making navigation more intuitive and controlled.
3Loss of information
If hierarchical grouping of plant parts is implemented on master displays, then information organization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the plant hierarchy into discrete nodes in the navigation tree, where each node represents a specific apparatus, apparatus group, or plant section. This segmentation allows hierarchical organization to be implemented through software structure rather than requiring complex physical display arrangements, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation tree structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it organizes apparatus information hierarchically, provides navigation pathways to subordinate displays, and adapts dynamically to different plant configurations. This universal structure replaces multiple specialized display arrangements, simplifying the overall system despite the complexity of hierarchical organization.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device displays device information in a navigation tree, whose nodes are each assigned to apparatus parts, apparatuses and/or apparatus groups, such that the apparatus information with a node that is superordinate both to the node which is assigned to a source of the apparatus information, and to a currently selected node.