Production Equipment Status Mapping for Uniform State Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for monitoring production plants lack a uniform assignment of status signals and visual signals to operating states, leading to ambiguity and difficulty in interpreting and statistically evaluating the status of production systems from different manufacturers, which complicates operator understanding and historical data analysis.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising transmitting devices, a reception base, and an allocation device with a screen, where status signals from production systems are standardized by assigning them to a predetermined group of states, allowing for intuitive monitoring and simplified statistical evaluation, using a meshed network and signal amplifiers to ensure consistent visual representation across different systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If each equipment manufacturer uses its own convention for encoding status signals, then the equipment can be manufactured with manufacturer-specific optimizations, but the visual indicator lights of equipment in the same or similar operating states differ significantly, causing interpretation difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a standardized status signal encoding convention as an intermediary layer between manufacturer-specific equipment and the universal monitoring system. This standard acts as a mediator that translates diverse manufacturer encodings into a common language, allowing operators to interpret status lights consistently across different equipment without requiring manufacturer-specific knowledge.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements homogeneity by enforcing a uniform status signal encoding standard across all monitored equipment regardless of manufacturer. All equipment uses the same color codes, flash patterns, and signal meanings, creating a homogeneous visual language that eliminates interpretation ambiguity and allows operators to read any equipment status with the same mental model.
2Ease of operation
If visual signals from different production plants are made similar, then the system can provide consistent visual representation, but different operating states may emit similar signals, creating ambiguity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the status indication into multiple independent dimensions: color (red, yellow, green, blue), flash pattern (continuous, alternating, rotating), and light element combination. This multi-dimensional segmentation allows each operating state to have a unique signature across these dimensions, providing both consistency in representation and sufficient distinction to avoid ambiguity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds multiple dimensions to the status signal representation beyond simple color coding. By incorporating flash patterns (temporal dimension), multiple light elements (spatial dimension), and their combinations, the system creates a rich multidimensional status space where each operating state occupies a unique position, eliminating ambiguity while maintaining visual consistency.
3Measurement precision
If manufacturer-specific operating states are used, then each system can represent its unique states accurately, but statistical evaluation of production equipment is complicated by non-identical state definitions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a standardized state classification system as an intermediary between manufacturer-specific operating states and statistical evaluation requirements. This standard maps diverse manufacturer states into unified categories (e.g., all fault states map to a common fault category regardless of specific error type), enabling accurate representation of individual states while facilitating efficient aggregate statistical analysis.
4Measurement precision
If operators must interpret each machine's light signal using operating instructions, then accurate interpretation is possible, but the process becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a homogeneous visual language where all equipment uses identical color codes, flash patterns, and signal meanings. Operators develop a single mental model that applies universally across all machines, eliminating the need to consult manufacturer-specific operating instructions for each device. This reduces interpretation time dramatically while maintaining accurate signal understanding.
Data Source
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AI summary
In order to provide a system for monitoring production equipment that enables an operator to accurately record the state of a production equipment in a simple and intuitive manner and that facilitates or enables a statistical evaluation of historical states of a production equipment, a system (100) for monitoring production equipment (13, 13a, 13b, 13c) is provided, comprising at least one transmitting device (10, 10a, 10b), a receiving base (11) and an assignment device (12), wherein the at least one transmitting device (10, 10a, 10b) is configured to send at least one status signal from at least one production equipment (13, 13a, 13b, 13c) assignable or associated to the transmitting device (10, 10a, 10b) directly or indirectly to the receiving base (11) via a data connection, wherein the receiving base (11) is configuredto receive at least one status signal and forward it to the assignment device (12), wherein the assignment device (12) comprises an electronic circuit and is configured to assign at least one state from a predetermined group of states to the at least one status signal.