WO2014117825A1

WO2014117825A1 - Method and device for monitoring an industrial process by means of a touch screen device

Info

Publication number: WO2014117825A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/051723
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jonas BRÖNMARK; Anton Jansen
Original assignee: Abb Research Ltd
Priority date: 2013-01-30
Filing date: 2013-01-30
Publication date: 2014-08-07

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of monitoring an industrial process by means of a touch screen device having a touch screen, the method comprising: a) providing the touch screen device arranged to display process graphics defined by a plurality of process component representations of respective process components involved in performing process steps of the industrial process, the touch screen device enabling zoom operation of the process graphics and pan operation when the process graphics is in a zoomed-in state, b) displaying a process component representation of one of the plurality of process components in the process graphics, c) detecting on the touch screen a single user touch interaction, d) determining the location of the single user touch interaction in the process graphics, and in case the location is determined to correspond to the location of the process component representation, d) displaying on the touch screen a pop-up menu enabling monitoring of that process component which is associated with the user selected process component representation.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MONITORING AN INDUSTRIAL

PROCESS BY MEANS OF A TOUCH SCREEN DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to industrial process monitoring and control. In particular it relates to a method of monitoring an industrial process, a computer program product comprising computer-executable code for performing the method, and to a touch screen device.

BACKGROUND

Industrial processes in such diverse fields as pulp and paper, oil and gas, heat and power generation, metals and mining, and the chemical industry generally comprise a plurality of process components, i.e. process equipment, for carrying out various process steps. In an industrial process, sensors are typically arranged to measure industrial process component related data, such as process variable values, which are associated with the process components. The measured process variable values are used for controlling the process variables by means of controllers in accordance with setpoint values.

Large scale industrial processes comprise a great plurality of sensors and control loops and can for example be monitored and controlled by means of a distributed control system (DCS) or a supervisory control and data

acquisition (SCAD A) system, which allows monitoring and control of the entire industrial process. These systems are arranged to receive measurement data, e.g. process variable data, from the plurality of sensors for monitoring purposes. The measurement data received by the DCS or SCADA system is presented to process operators supervising the industrial process. Process operators may thereby monitor the entire industrial process and provide control commands to any of the controllers, for example to override normal control provided by the controllers. Process engineers or other plant/industrial process monitoring personnel occasionally need to perform maintenance work or other operations in a process component environment, e.g. a plant. To facilitate their work, they may utilise portable radio devices, i.e. portable radio communication enabled devices, which provides a communication link to the control system(s) and/or SCADA system such that information concerning process components of the industrial process may be obtained in essentially any location.

A problem with existing portable radio devices used in a industrial process monitoring and/or control context is that in some cases they may not be able to provide the same opportunities to monitor and/or control process components as would otherwise be possible e.g. via stationary workstations in a control room or by means of stationary devices arranged in the process component environment.

SUMMARY

The inventors have realised that when using touch screen devices in an industrial context, one user-interaction dimension may be lost. In cases when the complete process graphics, which describe the industrial process, has a larger resolution than what would fit the touch screen of the touch screen device, panning of the process graphics is needed to display process components located "outside" the displayed process graphics. Additionally, in cases when zooming operations may be performed to zoom in or out of the process graphics, a user may not be able to obtain context menus of process components of the process graphics because all user interaction gestures have been exhausted. In view of the above, a general object of the present disclosure is to facilitate the monitoring of an industrial process by means of a touch screen device. In particular, it would be desirable to be able to provide a method and touch screen device for which user interaction can be improved with process graphics having a resolution that may be larger than that of the associated touch screen device. Hence, according to a first aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of monitoring an industrial process by means of a touch screen device having a touch screen, the method comprising: a) providing the touch screen device arranged to display process

graphics defined by a plurality of process component

representations of respective process components involved in performing process steps of the industrial process, the touch screen device enabling zoom operation of the process graphics and pan operation when the process graphics is in a zoomed-in state, b) displaying a process component representation of one of the

plurality of process components in the process graphics, c) detecting on the touch screen a single user touch interaction, d) determining the location of the single user touch interaction in the process graphics, and in case the location is determined to

correspond to the location of the process component representation, e) displaying on the touch screen a pop-up menu enabling monitoring of that process component which is associated with the user selected process component representation.

An industrial process is to be understood to mean a procedure that involves chemical, electrical, or mechanical steps to aid in manufacturing, production, power generation, fabrication, or refining. Examples of such industrial processes are processes relating to the refining of oil and gas, the

petrochemical industry, power generation, power transmission, power distribution, metals and mining, chemical industry, pulp and paper, or automation in e.g. the manufacturing industry or food industry.

An effect which may be obtainable thereby is that a user of the touch screen device may be able to interact with the process components associated with the process component representations. In particular, a user may search through the process graphics, select a desired process component representation and interact therewith through the pop-up menu. Thereby a user can obtain quick access to any menu associated with a selected process component representation directly via the process graphics. Hence, access to relevant information or control functions can be obtained with fewer user interaction gestures than in the prior art. As a consequence, a user of the touch screen device is able to receive process component related information and/or to control a process component faster than was previously possible. This is advantageous in that, for example in case of an event, the user may be able to provide mitigating actions faster. According to one embodiment the single user touch interaction is a single tap.

One embodiment comprises, prior to step b) of displaying, displaying at least a portion of the process graphics and detecting one of a pan and zoom user interaction on the touch screen. One embodiment comprises f) detecting a user selection of a menu item displayed on the pop-up menu.

One embodiment comprises g) retrieving process component related data based on the menu item selected in step f), and h) displaying the process component related data. According to one embodiment the step g) of retrieving comprises retrieving the process component related data from a server of an industrial control system.

One embodiment comprises displaying a control menu associated with the process component based on step f) of detecting a user selection, detecting a control menu user input and providing a control command to control the process component associated with the control menu based on the control menu user input.

One embodiment comprises determining the location of the single user touch interaction relative the long side and short side edges of the displayed process graphics, and prior to step e) of displaying the pop-up menu, adapting the location of display of the pop-up menu based on the location of the process component representation relative the short side edges and long side edges.

According to one embodiment step e) of displaying involves highlighting the process component representation such that it distinguishes from the remaining process graphics.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a computer program product comprising computer-executable components for causing a touch screen device to perform the steps of the first aspect presented herein when the computer-executable components are run on a processing unit included in the touch screen device.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a touch screen device for monitoring of an industrial process, wherein the touch screen device comprises: a touch screen, and a processing unit arranged to be in communication with the touch screen, wherein the processing unit comprises computer executable components arranged to perform the steps of the first aspect.

According to one embodiment the touch screen device is a portable radio device. According to one embodiment the processing unit is arranged to determine the spatial orientation of the touch screen device and to display the process graphics in landscape mode or portrait mode on the touch screen dependent of the determined spatial orientation.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The specific embodiments of the inventive concept will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a schematic view of a touch screen device; Figs 2a and 2b illustrate gestures for zooming and panning operations respectively;

Fig. 3 illustrates an industrial control system in an industrial process context;

Figs 4a-c schematically depict a method of monitoring an industrial process; and Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of methods of monitoring an industrial process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventive concept will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplifying

embodiments are shown. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example, so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description. Fig. 1 depicts an example of a touch screen device 1. The touch screen device 1 comprises a touch screen 3, for example a multi -touch capable display, and a processing unit 5 arranged to communicate with the touch screen 3. The processing unit 5 is arranged to detect user gestures on the touch screen 3, and to act, e.g. execute computer-executable components, based on the detected user interaction.

The touch screen device may further comprise a memory comprising computer-executable components which when loaded into the processing unit performs a method of monitoring an industrial process. Alternatively, the processing unit may comprise an internal memory, wherein this internal memory comprises the above-mentioned computer-executable components, for execution by the processing unit.

According to one variation, the touch screen device 1 is a portable radio device, i.e. a device which has an antenna. Examples of such a portable radio device are a smartphone, a tablet computer, and a dedicated portable radio device designed for the purpose of monitoring and/or controlling an industrial process. In case the touch screen device is a smartphone or a tablet computer, the computer-executable components arranged to perform the herein disclosed method of monitoring an industrial process may

advantageously be in the form a downloadable application. According to the present disclosure a touch screen device of portable type is arranged to be able to communicate with a control system such as a DCS or a SCADA system. In particular the touch screen device is able to receive process component related data from the control system and, according to some variations, to send commands to the process components to for example control process components. The touch screen device can according to another variation be a stationary unit, for arrangement in the process component environment or in a control room. Touch screen device 1 is arranged to display process graphics describing an industrial process. The process graphics is defined by a plurality of process component representations of respective process components involved in performing process steps of the industrial process. A process component may for example be a tank, a valve, a turbine, a roller or a cluster or rollers for a pulp and paper mill, drying equipment, a refiner, a generator, a motor, a transformer, or a boiler.

Figs 2a and 2b show basic user interaction gestures for interacting with a touch screen device. In Fig. 2a, a gesture for zooming by using pinch and spread gestures is illustrated. In Fig. 2b gestures for panning by keeping a finger on the touch screen and moving it in a desired direction is shown. Pan operation is typically enabled when the process graphics is in a zoomed-in state. Touch screen device 1 is according to one variation thereof enabled to allow zooming and/or panning of the process graphics presented on its touch screen, for example via pinch/spread and hold/move operations as discussed above. The touch screen device l is further arranged such that when a single user touch interaction with a process component representation via the touch screen 3 is detected by the processing unit 5, a pop-up menu enabling monitoring of that process component which is associated with the user selected process component representation is displayed. This process will be discussed in more detail in what follows with reference to Figs 4a-c and Fig.

5·

Fig. 3 schematically shows an example of an industrial control system 7 for monitoring and controlling an industrial process 9 in which the touch screen device 1 may be utilised. An industrial process such as industrial process 3 involves various process steps carried out by one or more process component 11-A, 11-B, 11-C to 11-n. The process flow according to the example of Fig. 2 is in a direction from left to right, as indicated by arrow A. The industrial control system 7 may, for example, be a distributed control system (DCS), a SCADA system or a combination of a SCADA system and DCS system. An example of an industrial control system in this context is the ABB® 8ooxA control system.

The exemplified industrial control system 1 comprises a plurality of controllers 13-1, 13-2, 13-3,..., 13-n such as Remote Terminal Units (RTU) or Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), and a plurality of sensors 15-1, 15-2, !5^_3 to 15-n associated with a respective controller 13-1, 13-2, 13-3 to 13-n. Alternatively, several sensors may be associated with each controller. Thus, each controller may realise one or more control loops.

Each sensor may be comprised in a respective controller, or the controllers and sensors may be physically separate units. Each sensor 15-1, 15-2, 15-3,.., 15-n of the plurality of sensors is arranged to measure one or more process component related data, such as process variable(s) values of an associated process component n-A, n-B, 11-C,..., n-D. The controllers 13-1, 13-2, 13- 3,..., 13-n are arranged to control a process component 11-A, 11-B, 11-C,..., 11- n according to a respective setpoint value which can be set by means of the industrial control system 7.

A process variable is to be construed as a measurable quantity, such as pressure, temperature or voltage, associated with a process component.

The exemplified industrial control system 7 of Fig. 3 further comprises a communications network N and a control terminal 17 connectable to the communications network N and which provides an interface between the industrial process 9 and an operator supervising the industrial process 9. The communications network N may be a wireless system, a wired system or combination of a wired and wireless system. The industrial control system 7 may further comprise a server on which process component related data received from the sensors 15-1, 15-2, 15-3,..., 15-n may be stored.

A method of monitoring an industrial process such as industrial process 9 will now be described with reference to Figs 4a-c and Fig. 5. Fig. 4a depicts a schematic view of a touch screen device 1 in operating mode. In a step b) the touch screen 3 displays process graphics comprising one or more process component representations such as boiler 21 and valves 23a and 23b of process components, e.g. process components 11-A, 11-B and 11-C in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4a the user, e.g. a process engineer, may prior to step b) have selected the displayed portion of process graphics, which depicts a process component representation of present interest to the user, e.g. by panning and/or zooming.

As shown in Fig. 4b, a user can select one of the process component representations via a user interaction with the touch screen 3. According to the present disclosure, a user can select one of the process component representations by a single user touch interaction such as by tapping the touch screen at a location displaying the desired process component representation, which in the depicted example is process component representation 21, a boiler. Hence, in a step c) a single user touch interaction is detected on the touch screen by means of the processing unit 5.

In a step d) the location of the single user touch interaction in the process graphics is determined. Thus, it is determined whether a process component representation has been selected and in case a process component

representation has been selected, which process component it is that has been selected. In case the location is determined to correspond to the location of the process component representation in a step e) a pop-up menu 25 enabling monitoring of that process component, which is associated with the user selected process component representation 21 is displayed on the touch screen 3. The pop-up menu 25 can be a single item menu or a multi item menu. Each menu item 25a, 25b of the pop-up menu 25 provides a link either to information relevant for monitoring the process component associated with the selected process component representation or to a control menu for controlling the process component associated with the selected process component representation.

Optionally, according to one variation, based on the position of the detection of the single user touch interaction, it is determined where to display the pop- up menu on the touch screen 3. The location of the single user touch interaction can for example be determined relative long side edges 3a and short side edges 3b of the displayed process graphics, i.e. corresponding to the long sides and short sides of the touch screen 3. In this case prior to step e) of displaying the pop-up menu 25, the location of where the pop-up menu is to be displayed is adapted based on the location of the process component representation relative the short side edges 3a and long side edges 3b.

According to one variation, the default position of the pop-up menu is to display it above the single user touch interaction. If the pop-u p menu does not fit, the processing unit 5 may try to position the pop-up menu to the left of the detected single user touch interaction, to the right of the detected single user touch interaction, and finally if it has been determined that the pop-up menu would not fit according to any of the above configurations, below the detected single user touch interaction. According to one variation, a small triangle on the edge of the pop-up menu indicates the edge of the location on the touch screen where the single user touch interaction occurred.

Optionally, step e) involves highlighting the process component

representation 21 such that it distinguishes from the remaining process graphics. Highlighting can for example be enabled by changing the colour of the selected process component representation in relation to the remaining process graphics, by flashing the selected object or generally by altering the visual appearance of the process component representation such that the selected process component representation distinguishes from the remaining process graphics. According to one variation, optionally the name of the selected process component representation may be displayed on the process component representation in the process graphics. The name can be displayed on the process component representation for variations where the selected process component representation is highlighted and for variations where the selected process component is not highlighted.

The user may select on of the menu items of the pop-up menu. Hereto, when a user selects a menu item in a step f) a user selection of a menu item displayed on the pop-up menu is detected by the processing unit 5. In response to step f) process component related data is retrieved in a step g) based on the menu item selected in step f). The process component related data retrieved in step g) can be fetched from the associated industrial control system, for example from a server of the industrial control system.

In a step h) the process component related data is then displayed on the touch screen 3. The process component related data can for example be process variable values associated with the underlying process component.

If the menu item selected by the user is a link to a control menu, a control menu associated with the process component based on the detecting in step f) is displayed. If a user inputs a control command, the processing unit 5 detects a control menu user input and provides a control command to control the process component associated with the control menu based on the control menu user input.

To remove the pop-up menu or any selected menu item from the touch screen 3, a user may for example provide a tap outside the pop-up menu or selected menu. Hereto, the processing unit 5 detects such a user action wherein the pop-up menu or selected menu is removed.

According to one variation of the touch screen device, the process graphics may be displayed on the touch screen in landscape mode or portrait mode dependent of the spatial orientation of the touch screen device. In particular, the processing unit may be arranged to determine the orientation of the touch screen device wherein the orientation of the displayed process graphics is based on the determined orientation of the touch screen. For this purpose, the touch screen device may be provided with a gyroscope for example.

The inventive concept has mainly been described above with reference to a few examples. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the inventive concept, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring an industrial process (9) by means of a touch screen device (1) having a touch screen (3), the method comprising: a) providing the touch screen device (1) arranged to display process graphics (19) defined by a plurality of process component

representations (21, 23a, 23b) of respective process components involved in performing process steps of the industrial process (9), the touch screen device (1) enabling zoom operation of the process graphics and pan operation when the process graphics are in a zoomed-in state, b) displaying a process component representation of one of the

plurality of process components in the process graphics, c) detecting on the touch screen (3) a single user touch interaction, d) determining the location of the single user touch interaction in the process graphics (19), and in case the location is determined to correspond to the location of the process component representation, e) displaying on the touch screen (3) a pop-up menu (25) enabling monitoring of that process component which is associated with the user selected process component representation.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the single user touch interaction is a single tap.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising, prior to step b) of displaying, displaying at least a portion of the process graphics (19) and detecting one of a pan and zoom user interaction on the touch screen.

4. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising f) detecting a user selection of a menu item (25a, 25b) displayed on the pop-up menu (25).

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, comprising g) retrieving process component related data based on the menu item selected in step f), and h) displaying the process component related data.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step g) of retrieving comprises retrieving the process component related data from a server of an industrial control system.

7. The method as claimed in any of claims 4-6, comprising displaying a control menu associated with the process component based on step f) of detecting a user selection, detecting a control menu user input and providing a control command to control the process component associated with the control menu based on the control menu user input.

8. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising determining the location of the single user touch interaction relative the long side and short side edges (3a, 3b) of the displayed process graphics (19), and prior to step e) of displaying the pop-up menu (25), adapting the location of display of the pop-up menu based on the location of the process component representation relative the short side edges and long side edges.

9. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein step e) of displaying involves highlighting the process component representation such that it distinguishes from the remaining process graphics.

10. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the touch screen (3) is a multi-touch enabled.

11. A computer program product comprising computer-executable components for causing a touch screen device to perform the steps recited in any one of claims 1-10 when the computer-executable components are run on a processing unit included in the touch screen device.

12. A touch screen device (1) for monitoring of an industrial process (9), wherein the touch screen device (1) comprises: a touch screen (3), and a processing unit (5) arranged to be in communication with the touch screen (3), wherein the processing unit (5) comprises computer executable components arranged to perform the steps of any of claims 1-10.

13. The touch screen device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the touch screen device is a portable radio device.

14. The touch screen device as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the processing unit is arranged to determine the spatial orientation of the touch screen device and to display the process graphics in landscape mode or portrait mode on the touch screen dependent of the determined spatial orientation.