Plant Management Screen Images With Real-Time Alert Prioritization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing management systems for production plants face challenges in generating real-time management screen images due to the need for faster and wider network bandwidth, which increases operational costs, making it difficult to respond quickly to facility state changes.

Innovation Solution

A screen image generation method and device that classify information acquisition into real-time and regular categories, ensuring real-time management screen images while reducing network speed and bandwidth requirements by prioritizing real-time alerts from controllers and regular data updates from sensors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If information is acquired from the facility and sensor at shorter time intervals to update the management screen image in real-time, then the real-time property of the management screen image is improved, but the network speed and bandwidth requirements increase, leading to higher operational costs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereal-time property of management screen imageVSAvoidoperational cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the acquisition timing based on information type: critical facility state information (alerts) is acquired in real-time with high priority, while general sensor data is acquired at regular intervals. This selective approach ensures real-time monitoring of important parameters without uniformly increasing network bandwidth requirements for all data types, thus resolving the contradiction between real-time property and operational cost.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Speed

If the network is made faster and wider to enable real-time updates of the management screen image, then the real-time property is improved, but the operational costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenetwork speedVSAvoidoperational cost
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSUse of energy by stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by assigning different acquisition priorities to different information types. Facility state information containing alerts is marked for real-time acquisition, while other sensor data uses regular interval acquisition. This differentiated approach allows the system to achieve real-time monitoring capabilities for critical parameters without requiring the entire network infrastructure to operate at maximum speed and bandwidth, thereby reducing operational costs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Use of energy by stationary object

If information acquisition is performed at regular intervals to reduce network bandwidth requirements, then operational costs are reduced, but the real-time property of the management screen image deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperational costVSAvoidreal-time property of management screen image
Core Design Contradiction:
Use of energy by stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent resolves this contradiction by applying local quality through selective information acquisition. Instead of using a uniform acquisition strategy, the system identifies facility state information containing alerts as requiring real-time acquisition, while other information types use regular interval acquisition. This targeted approach ensures that the real-time property is maintained for critical monitoring data without incurring the full operational cost of real-time acquisition for all data types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Reliability

If all information from sensors and controllers is acquired in real-time, then the real-time property of the management screen image is improved, but the network bandwidth and speed requirements increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereal-time property of management screen imageVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating between information types that require real-time acquisition and those that do not. Facility state information, particularly alerts indicating abnormal conditions, is prioritized for real-time acquisition. Other sensor data is acquired at regular intervals. This selective approach reduces the total quantity of data requiring real-time transmission, thereby lowering network bandwidth requirements while maintaining real-time monitoring for critical parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4120037B1Screen image generation method, screen image generation device and program
Publication Date: 2024.08.21 SINTOKOGIO LTD
  • EP4120037B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4120037B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4120037B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A screen image generation device for generating a screen image indicating a state of a facility in a production plant is provided which ensures a real-time property of a management screen image needed in actual production plants and reduce required levels of making a network faster in speed and wider in bandwidth. A server functioning as the device performs first acquisition of regularly acquiring first data transmitted from a sensor and concerning the facility at intervals of a first time, second acquisition of regularly acquiring second data transmitted from a controller and concerning the facility at intervals of a second time shorter than the first time, third acquisition of acquiring, in real time, an alert irregularly transmitted from the controller and concerning the facility, and generation of generating the management screen image indicating the state of the facility in accordance with the first data, the second data, and the alert.