U.S. patent application number 09/803586 was filed with the patent office on 2001-07-26 for man-machine interface for a virtual annunciator panel display.
Invention is credited to Petrizzi, James V., Thomas, Robert P..
Application Number | 20010009425 09/803586 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22558551 |
Filed Date | 2001-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010009425 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thomas, Robert P. ; et
al. |
July 26, 2001 |
Man-machine interface for a virtual annunciator panel display
Abstract
A power management control system provides control and graphical
representation of a plurality of electrical devices and components
of an electrical distribution system. The control system includes a
virtual three-dimensional annunciator panel for displaying an
indication of the status or condition of a plurality a plurality of
electrical devices of an electrical distribution system. The
virtual annunciator panel includes an array (6.times.8) of
indicator buttons that represent a particular device, event or
group of events of the PMCS. The buttons are displayed in different
colors to indicate different alarm systems. The annunciator panel
functions to notify the user/operator of an alarm condition of a
device, as well as permits the user to acknowledge alarms. The
development of the virtual annunciator panel display is automated
using software, namely an Annunciator Panel Wizard. The Panel
Wizard provides the automated configuration of the annunciator
panel graphic as well as a built-in event mapping to the
annunciator buttons which is user configurable. The Panel Wizard
allows the user to generate the virtual annunciator panel display
without any programming skills or detailed device knowledge.
Inventors: |
Thomas, Robert P.;
(Ellington, CT) ; Petrizzi, James V.;
(Tariffville, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CANTOR COLBURN, LLP
55 GRIFFIN ROAD SOUTH
BLOOMFIELD
CT
06002
|
Family ID: |
22558551 |
Appl. No.: |
09/803586 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09803586 |
Mar 9, 2001 |
|
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09156203 |
Sep 17, 1998 |
|
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6219046 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/771 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10S 715/965 20130101;
G05B 23/0272 20130101; G05B 23/0216 20130101; Y10S 715/97
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/771 ;
345/772 |
International
Class: |
G06F 003/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A power management control system comprising: a network; a first
control device connected directly to said network and communicable
with said network; a user configurable annunciator panel, said
panel including an indicator for visually displaying the status or
condition of said first control device; and, software defining an
annunciator panel wizard, wherein the annunciator panel wizard
provides user configuration of the annunciator panel.
2. The power management control system of claim 1 further
comprising a second control device; and, a concentrator providing
an interface between the network and the second control device;
wherein said indicator includes a visual display of the status or
condition of said second control device.
3. The power management control system of claim 2 further
comprising a computer, said panel and said software being
associated with said computer.
4. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
computer includes RS485 interface cards providing I/O ports that
define multiple Modbus RTU networks.
5. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
computer includes an RS232 to RS485 convertor.
6. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
network comprises multiple Modbus RTU networks.
7. The power management control system of claim 6 comprising a
plurality of first control devices.
8. The power management control system of claim 7 wherein the
plurality of first control devices includes direct connect Modbus
control devices and direct connect Modbus power management
devices.
9. The power management control system of claim 3 comprising a
plurality of second control devices.
10. The power management control system of claim 9 wherein the
plurality of second control devices includes trip units, meters,
and relays.
11. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
computer contains software which monitors and controls the first
and second control devices.
12. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
software includes a server.
13. The power management control system of claim 12 wherein the
software includes logical data tables associated with the
server.
14. The power management control system of claim 13 wherein the
software includes a module having a tool kit for building screens
and interfaces.
15. The power management control system of claim 14 wherein the
software includes a graphical user interface.
16. The power management control system of claim 13 wherein the
software includes at least one productivity module.
17. The power management control system of claim 16 wherein the at
least one productivity module includes a cost allocation module and
a load management module.
18. The power management control system of claim 13 wherein the
software includes an event logger module.
19. The power management control system of claim 13 wherein the
software includes a waveform capture module.
20. The power management control system of claim 13 wherein the
software includes an applications module, a waveform capture
module, an event logger module, a productivity module, and a module
having a tool kit for building screens and interfaces.
21. The power management control system of claim 3 wherein the
annunciator panel includes an array of indicator buttons, at least
one button in the array of indicator buttons relating to the first
control device and at least one button in the array of indicator
buttons relating to the second control device.
22. The power management control system of claim 21 wherein the
indicator buttons within the array of indicator buttons are
changeable in color for indicating an alarm state.
23. The power management control system of claim 21 wherein the
indicator buttons within the array of indicator buttons include
alphanumeric indicia for describing function of each button.
24. The power management control system of claim 21 further
comprising a reset button which resets alarm indicators that are in
an alarm state.
25. The power management control system of claim 21 further
comprising a first dialog box accessible from the annunciator
panel, the first dialog box providing a graphic of the array of
indicator buttons for selecting a button to configure text of the
button.
26. The power management control system of claim 25 further
comprising a second dialog box providing text entry spaces.
27. The power management control system of claim 21 wherein the
software includes an event logger module, the system further
comprising an annunciator panel configuration dialog box for
configuring annunciator panel items in the event logger module.
28. A power management control system comprising: a computer; a
network associated with the computer; a first control device
connected directly to said network and communicable with said
network; a second control device; a concentrator providing an
interface between the network and the second control device; and, a
user configurable annunciator panel associated with said computer,
said panel including an indicator for visually displaying the
status or condition of said first control device and said second
control device.
29. A power management control system comprising: a computer
including software defining an annunciator panel wizard, the
software including an applications module, a waveform capture
module, an event logger module, a productivity module, and a module
having a tool kit for building screens and interfaces; a network
associated with the computer; a first control device connected
directly to said network and communicable with said network; a user
configurable annunciator panel associated with said computer, the
annunciator panel wizard providing user configuration of the
annunciator panel, said annunciator panel including an array of
indicator buttons having at least one indicator button for visually
displaying the status or condition of said first control device;
and, a dialog box accessible from the annunciator panel, the dialog
box providing a graphic of the array of indicator buttons for
selecting a button to configure text of the button.
30. A method of generating an annunciator panel display having at
least one indicator for monitoring a device of a power control
system; said method comprising: selecting an annunciator panel
wizard; selecting an indicator of the annunciator panel; providing
an event logger for monitoring events of a monitored device of the
power control system; providing a navigational link between said
selected indicator and said event logger; and assigning a visual
display to said selected indicator indicative of the occurrence of
said monitored event.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/156,203, entitled MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE FOR
A VIRTUAL ANNUNCIATOR PANEL DISPLAY, filed on Sep. 17, 1998 and now
allowed, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a power
management control system and in particular, to software that
implements and automates the development of a virtual 3-D
annunciator panel display including built-in event mapping to the
annunciator tiles.
[0003] Power management control systems monitor and control a
variety of intelligent electronic devices of an electrical
distribution system. These control systems, generally, include an
annunciator panel or board provided at a console of the operator or
user. The annunciator panel includes an array of buttons that
provide status information of selected devices of the distribution
system. Each button is indicative of the status of a corresponding
device of the distribution system. Each of the buttons illuminates
with different colors, wherein each color is representative of the
status of the selected device. For example, a green button may
represent that the corresponding device is operating properly, and
a red light may indicate that a fault condition exists. The panel
provides an easy method of visually monitoring the condition or
status of the electrical system. If a fault occurs that requires
acknowledgement by the operator of the system before resetting the
fault, the operator may attempt to reset the failure by depressing
the button to acknowledge the fault.
[0004] Some power management control systems include a computer
connected to a common bus that allows communication between the
intelligent monitoring/control devices and a server. The control
system provides graphical representations of and links to the
devices of the distribution system to enable a user to monitor and
operate the distribution system.
[0005] For these computer control management systems, there is a
need for an equivalent virtual annunciator panel display that
provides the same function of the annunciator panel described
hereinbefore. Some power management control systems do offer a
virtual three-dimensional annunciator panel displays; however, the
system is not easily configurable without having programming
knowledge and capability as well as intimate knowledge of each of
the devices of the distribution system.
[0006] Current virtual annunciator panel displays also include an
array of buttons or tiles that provide the status of selected
intelligent devices of the distribution system. In order to
functionally link buttons of the virtual annunciator panel to the
selected devices, each virtual annunciator panel requires custom
programming by a knowledgeable integrator.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The above discussed and other drawbacks and deficiencies are
overcome or alleviated by a power management control system
comprising a network, a first control device connected directly to
said network and communicable with said network, a user
configurable annunciator panel, said panel including an indicator
for visually displaying the of status or condition of the first
control device, and software defining an annunciator panel wizard,
wherein the annunciator panel wizard provides user configuration of
the annunciator panel.
[0008] The above discussed and other features and advantages of the
present invention will be appreciated and understood by those
skilled in the art from the following detailed description and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are
numbered alike in the several FIGURES:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic block diagram of a power management
and control system in accordance with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a view of a virtual annunciator panel display
window generated by computer software embodying the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the computer software used in
the power management and control system of the present
invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is view of an InTouch-windowviewer window generated
by the computer software of FIG. 3;
[0014] FIGS. 5-8 are views of wizard selection dialog box windows
generated by the computer software of FIG. 3;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a view of an InTouch-windowviewer window generated
by the computer software of FIG. 3;
[0016] FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrammatic block diagrams of an
annunciator panel display, Event Logger and power management and
control system in accordance with the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 12 is a view of an InTouch-windowviewer window
generated by the computer software of FIG. 3 showing a virtual
annunciator panel display presented to an integrator for
programming;
[0018] FIG. 13 is a view of a dialog box window generated by the
computer software of FIG. 3 for configuring the buttons of the
virtual annunciator panel display;
[0019] FIG. 14 is a view of a dialog box window generated by the
computer software of FIG. 3 for providing a description of a button
of the virtual annunciator panel display;
[0020] FIG. 15 is a view of a dialog box window generated by the
computer software of FIG. 3 showing the configured virtual
annunciator panel Display of FIG. 12;
[0021] FIG. 16 is a view of an InTouch-windowviewer window
generated by the computer software of FIG. 3 showing the configured
virtual annunciator panel display of FIG. 12; and
[0022] FIGS. 17-21 are views of an InTouch dialog boxes for
configuring the Event Logger to enable interface with the
annunciator panel display of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] Referring now to FIG. 1, a power management control system
("PMCS"), generally designated 10, provides a three-dimensional
("3-D") virtual annunciator panel 12 (see FIG. 2) for displaying a
visual indication of the status or condition of a plurality of
electrical devices and components 13 of an electrical distribution
system 14. The PMCS 10 comprises a computer 16, e.g., an IBM-PC AT
compatible machine which is based on a Pentium processor, having
standard RS485 interface cards 18, or an RS232 to RS485 convertor,
and adapters installed in its I/O slots. The computer 16 contains
software for monitoring and controlling selected aspects of power
usage/consumption, as described in more detail hereinafter. Cards
18 provide I/O ports that define multiple industry standard Modbus
RTU networks 20 and 22. The Modbus RTU protocol is a well-known
industry standard. Devices with a Modbus RTU interface can be
connected directly to the Modbus, e.g., control devices 24, such
as, Multilin models 269 and 565 and power management EPM 3710 and
EPM 3720. Other devices communicate on the Commnnet protocol and
include trip units 26, e.g., Trip, Enhanced Trip-D, Trip PM and
Enhanced Trip-C Units, which are commercially available from
General Electric Co., meters 28, e.g., Power Leader Meters
commercially available from General Electric Co., and relays 30,
e.g., General Electric Co.'s Spectra ECM and Power Leader MDP. A
Modbus concentrator 32 provides an interface between the Modbus RTU
protocol and the Commnet protocol, whereby these devices can
communicate through Modbus concentrator 32 over the Modbus. In this
example, up to thirty-two devices (i.e., direct connect devices or
Modbus concentrators) can be connected to each Modbus RTU
network.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 2, the display of the virtual
three-dimensional annunciator panel 12 includes an array
(6.times.8) of indicator buttons or tiles 34 that represent a
particular device, event or group of events of the PMCS 10. The
buttons 34 are displayed in different colors to indicate different
alarm systems. The annunciator panel 12 functions to notify the
user/operator of an alarm condition of a device 13, as well as
permits the user to acknowledge alarms, as will be described in
greater detail hereinafter.
[0025] The development of a virtual 3-D annunciator panel display
12 is automated using software, namely an Annunciator Panel Wizard.
The Panel Wizard provides the automated configuration of the
annunciator panel graphic as well as a built-in event mapping to
the annunciator buttons 34 which is user configurable. The Panel
Wizard provides a rapid and cost effective method by which to
develop a virtual annunciator panel display 12. Previous
implementations of annunciator panel displays required custom
programming by the integrator developing the system. The Panel
Wizard allows the user to generate the virtual annunciator panel
display 12 without any programming skills or detailed device
knowledge. The invention closely couples the existing event
processing in the PMCS 10 with annunciator displays 12 in the user
interface, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter.
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 3, a block diagram 36 of the software
for monitoring and controlling selected aspects of power
usage/consumption of the PMCS 10, discussed above, is generally
shown. This software is loaded into the computer 16 and includes a
dynamic data exchange (DDE) server 40. DDE server 40 allows
external programs to access power management data in a Microsoft
Windows environment. Data interface to DDE server 40 is provided by
the system through a Wonderware InTouch utility. A configuration
and control interface for the DDE server is provided through server
application window menus. Associated with DDE server 40 are logical
data tables 42 and related modules, i.e., an Excel or other DDE
aware applications module 44, a waveform capture module 46, an
event logger module 48, productivity modules 50, and a Wonderware
InTouch module 52. Module 52 includes a tool kit for building
screens and interfaces, and a graphical user interface 54 for
monitoring and control of the electrical distribution system. The
graphical user interface 54 for the server operates in 32 bit
Windows or Windows NT environment and InTouch library functions.
Waveform capture module 46 provides for viewing and analysis of
waveforms (e.g., Fourier, frequency and/or harmonic analysis)
captured by sophisticated metering devices. Event Logger module 48
provides for viewing, organizing and analyzing unusual behavior in
a power system. Productivity modules 50 include, for example, a
cost allocation module and a load management module. The cost
allocation module provides for tracking power consumption to the
sub-unit level, developing internal billing methods and reports,
thereby reducing cost. The load management module provides for
tracking power demand and automatically shedding non-critical loads
to prevent peak demand penalties, and provides for timer-based
control to reduce power consumption. DDE server 40 communicates
though the interface card 18 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
[0027] The event logger module 48 includes a utility that passes a
received message as an un-acknowledgeable or acknowledgeable alarm
or as an event based upon the contents of an initialization file.
The DDE server 40 ensures that all events are cast in the same
format so that the event logger module 48 can interpret each event.
Electrical meters 28 and control/protection devices 26 use various
codes to describe occurrences to the circuits that are monitored or
controlled. A file collates these codes into three categories for
analysis. These three categories for any particular device are
modifiable for the code received from a device. The three
categories are `ACK/UNACK` for acknowledgeable alarms, `-` for
alarms requiring no acknowledgment, and "EVENTS" for merely
reporting the device status.
[0028] The waveform capture module 46 includes a utility that
provides an interface to configure and display data from a device
that transmits waveform data. These devices transmit waveform data
with different formats. One uniform display format is desired for
these different types of meters. This utility applies header
information transmitted by the meter to correctly scale and display
the comma separated value data transmitted by the devices as
applicable.
[0029] The Wonderware InTouch module 52 includes a software toolkit
for rapid development of three-dimensional representations of
electrical distribution switchgear 56, as shown in FIG. 4. These
switchgear elevations have logical connections to the switchgear
devices 13. Referring to FIG. 4, a typical switchgear elevation
developed with the so-called Power Wizards illustrated in FIGS. 5-8
is shown. This elevation can be modified to any dimensions with an
infinite number of combinations and arrangements of meters and
protection devices to quickly and accurately represent a customer's
switchgear. The Power Wizards eliminate the necessity to draw each
individual component line by line. The user starts by selecting a
cabinet wizard such as the AKD-8 or Power Break Cabinet to which
handles, panels, and fasteners are added, FIGS. 5 and 6.
Thereafter, circuit breakers 26 (FIG. 7), meters 28 and other
protection devices (FIG. 8) are located or dropped onto the
appropriate panels in the same locations as the customer's actual
switchgear. These items have dialog boxes associated with them that
are opened by double clicking on one of the Power Wizards once they
have been dropped. From this dialog box a navigational link is
established to another window that contains another Power Wizard
that displays detailed metering, configuration, and control
information.
[0030] The Wonderware InTouch module 52 includes predefined tabular
representations of metering and setup/set point information that is
generated automatically, with the appropriate database server links
established. A rapid method is provided to accurately generate a
user interface for power distribution metering, protection, and
control devices 13 with the capability to repeat this interface
repeatedly for many devices of the same type while maintaining the
capability to uniquely identify a device. The Power Wizards allows
the user to generate a power distribution device interface without
programming skills or detailed knowledge of the device.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 9, an example of a Power Wizard of a
metering device 28. The Power Wizards instantly develop a standard
looking interface for a particular device type. These Power Wizards
also create from this standard interface, unique database links
that the user defines by selecting a name and entering in this name
from a Power Wizard dialog box. In this way the same wizard may be
used over and over again but can be logically distinguished from
another via the user-defined name for a device entered in the Power
Wizard dialog box. All margin for error that may have occurred in
manually entering in the data access links to a database server are
removed by the Power Wizards capability to set them up
automatically using a unique user defined device name.
[0032] Every windows application is registered in a windows kernel
with an application name. To uniquely identify a data item for
communication between two cooperating (DDE aware) windows
applications, the data item is identified by tuple (Application,
Topic, Item). Topic name provides a grouping, and item name
specifies the actual data point to be accessed under a topic. For
the DDE server 40, the application name is the server's executable
name. Topic name can be the device identification name and item
name can be the register identification of a field data point. For
example, with a General Electric Co. EPM meter, the tuple can be
GE32MODB, EPM1, AMP_A where GE32MODB is the Application name for a
DDE Server, EPM1 is the meter identification name, and AMP_A is the
current for phase A. DDE messages mainly include requests to send
data as identified by the Topic and Item name. They may also be for
set point download to the data point as identified by the Topic and
Item names. Input parameter values are reported by field devices on
the communication interface in response to a poll by the server.
This value may be a float value, an integer value, a string or
discrete status bits.
[0033] Set points registers are to be downloaded based on request
from a DDE client, i.e., a program, for example, such as Wonderware
InTouch 5.0 or MS-Excel, which request data items from the DDE
server 40 and accepts data through DDE. The DDE server acts as a
link between a client requesting device data and a field device
that can provide the data. The DDE server communicates to the field
device through communication ports and to the client via DDE
message link. A client sends its requests to the server to
read/write some device registers. The server maps each request to
suitable device read/write request packets and carries out the
necessary transaction with the device. Then it relays the result
back to the client after processing and, if necessary, casts the
collected device data to the proper format. Apart from reporting
contents of normal device registers, the server can also collect
special data like waveform capture/recording data from the device
and pass it to a client.
[0034] The DDE server 40 maintains current status (DEAD/ACTIVE) of
all active topics (devices). This information does not have any
direct register associated with the device topic name and hence a
pseudo item called `STATUS` is maintained by the DDE server. If the
DDE server 40 does not get a response from any device during `n`
consecutive poll cycles then that particular device is declared
DEAD. The value of `n` is read from an initialization file. The
status of any device will be updated to a client only if a
pre-defined item called `STATUS` is made active. DEAD devices would
be polled with period equal to a dead device scan interval
(available in initialization file) instead of the device scan
interval. DEAD devices will become ACTIVE when they respond to a
polling request.
[0035] A device type register map must be configured for each of
the device topics connected thereto. The system provides for
configuration of a starting valid address, a last valid address,
and a set of invalid register blocks using this utility. Valid
registers, in the present example, are R0XXXX; R1XXXX; R3XXXX; or
R4XXXX. Accordingly, DDE server 40 supports the following Modbus
register types; R0XXXX--Discrete coils, R1XXXX--Discrete status
registers, R3XXXX Input registers, and R4XXXX--Set point registers.
With these generic types, a user can configure any number of
register types. Each of these types will have poll rate attributes
(i.e., Fast Poll, Slow Poll, or Poll Once). Buffered events,
read/write date/time registers for time synchronization, waveform
capture data and waveform recording data are implemented
differently in the devices which support them hence, no common
configuration utility is provided for these functions. The DDE
server handles each of these functions specifically. Again a
mnemonic name is associated with a register address.
[0036] In general, the DDE server 40 uses the Modbus RTU protocol
to communicate with a field device 13. The DDE server provides
appropriate return values as specified for all clients, i.e.,
periodic polling packets for active topics and items, periodic
polling packets for events and status, periodic update of time to
all the devices, data value update to clients for acquired items,
event/status report to InTouch so that it becomes part of normal
alarm log, and status update for active topics (devices). Set point
write requests are properly formatted set point download
communication packets for the request. Execution and termination of
the server are initiated on user request from the DDE server window
menu.
[0037] As described hereinbefore, the Annunciator Panel Wizard
assists the integrator in the development of the virtual
annunciator panel display 12 of the present invention, shown in
FIG. 2. Specifically, the Annunciator Panel Wizard interconnects
specific device events/alarms received by the Event Logger Module
48 through the DDE server 40 to specific buttons 14 of the
annunciator panel 12, and thereby provides the ability to notify
the user of Alarm On/Off states of the devices throughout the PMCS
10. The annunciator panel 12 also allows the user to acknowledge
alarms which are either currently on, or have previously been on
and have gone to an off state.
[0038] The Annunciator Panel Wizard provides a screen full of
indicator buttons 34, each relating to a particular device 13,
event, or group of events. The Annunciator Panel Wizard monitors
selected DDE items in the Event Logger 48 and responds to changes
of state in these items by changing the colors of individual
indicator buttons 34. For example, the integrator might configure a
relay trip event to be associated with a button in the Annunciator
Panel Wizard. The Annunciator Panel Wizard monitors a DDE tag 60 at
the Event Logger 48 corresponding to the trip status of the
corresponding relay 13 and displays a gray indicator if the relay
is operating properly, and a red indicator if the relay has
tripped.
[0039] The annunciator panel 12 includes an array of forty-eight
(48) buttons 34 (six columns by eight rows). Each button 34 has an
animation link, as well as 3 lines of text (definable at design
time) that describe the function of each button. For example,
referring to FIG. 2, the description of the second button down in
the first column of buttons is "BUS-1 MAIN BREAKER TROUBLE".
[0040] As shown in FIG. 12, four (4) additional buttons 62-65 are
disposed below the array of buttons 34 labeled "RESET",
"ACKNOWLEDGE ALL", "ALARM SUMMARY" and "HELP", respectively. The
RESET button 62 allows a privileged user the ability to reset all
Alarm Indicators that are currently in an Alarm Acknowledged state.
The ACKNOWLEDGE ALL button 63 cycles through all of the panel
buttons 34 and acknowledges all Alarm Indicators which are in an
unacknowledged state. The ALARM SUMMARY button 64 brings the local
S30 Event Logger program 48 to the foreground. The HELP button 34
invokes a PMCS Help file with a context string of "Annunciator"
that provides the user instructions of the features and operation
of the annunciator panel 12.
[0041] The diagrams of FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the relationship
of the annunciator panel 12, the Event Logger 48, and the DDE
Server 40 which monitors the devices 13 (e.g., Relay 1, Relay 2 and
Relay 3) of the PMCS 12. The Event Logger 48 is programmed to
selectively track events reported by the DDE server 40. For
example, the Event Logger 48 is programmed to track three events of
Relay 1. The monitored events may include the tripping of the relay
13, the occurrence of an error condition and an overvoltage
condition. The Event Logger 48 is configured to change the state of
the Trip 1 DDE item 60 dependent on the occurrence of any of the
three monitored events.
[0042] The Annunciator Panel Wizard monitors the configured DDE
items 60 at the Event Logger 48. As shown in FIG. 10, the Relay 1
button 34a monitors the DDE item Trip 1. Similarly the Relay 2
button 34b and Relay 3 button 34c of the annunciator panel 12
monitors other corresponding DDE items 60 that may be named Trip 2
and Trip 3, respectively. The Relay 1 button 34a is configured to
display a gray indicator button when the status of the DDE Item
Trip 1 is OFF and red when the status of the DDE Item Trip 1 is ON.
In FIG. 10 none of the monitored events have occurred and
therefore, the status of the DDE Item Trip 1 is OFF and the Relay 1
button 34a is gray. In FIG. 11 Relay 1 tripped and therefore, the
status of the DDE Item Trip 1 is ON. In response to the ON status,
the Relay 1 button 34a changes to display a red indicator button,
indicative of the presence of a fault condition of Relay 1. It will
be appreciated that each of the other buttons, i.e., Relay 2 button
34b and Relay 3 button 34c, operate in a similar manner for another
DDE Item 60. The Event Logger Annunciator Panel Logic will also
change the state of a DDE Item 60 in response to actions performed
at the Annunciator Panel Wizard. The user can both acknowledge and
reset individual Annunciator DDE items 60.
[0043] The wizard functionality is based on the premise that the
Event Logger 48 provides new DDE "Alarm Items" which indicate the
current "state" of a button of the annunciator panel 12. In the
implementation of the wizard to generate an annunciator panel, the
integrator configures the Event Logger Alarms Items (in the Event
Logger) that track the status of a device or devices 13 of the PMCS
10. The DDE Alarm Items, therefore, are controlled by specific
device events/alarms received by the event log application.
[0044] The Annunciator Panel Wizard is controlled by indirect
analog tags, which the integrator associates a button 34 of the
annunciator panel 12 with a corresponding Event Logger DDE Item 60.
The indirect tag is used to control the color changes of each
button 34, and to poke values to these DDE Items 60 (through the
indirect analog tags) in order to Acknowledge and reset each Alarm
Item.
[0045] The development of the virtual annunciator panel 12 includes
three basic steps. First, the integrator use the Annunciator Panel
Wizard to generate the annunciator panel 12 and identify each of
the buttons 34 as desired. Once the wizard is configured, the
integrator performs the remaining steps to complete annunciator
Panel functionality in the Wonderware InTouch Application. In the
InTouch Application the integrator creates InTouch DDE tags for the
DDE Items 60 in the Event Logger 48 which correspond to the buttons
of the annunciator panel 12 (up to 48 tags per annunciator panel).
The integrator then writes a InTouch script (e.g., application
startup script) that associates the InTouch indirect tags (created
by the wizard) with the InTouch DDE tags created directly by the
integrator.
[0046] Referring to FIG. 12, the annunciator panel 12 is shown
prior to configuring the Annunciator Panel Wizard. To configure the
Annunciator Panel Wizard, the integrator drops in the wizard by
selecting the Annunciator Panel Wizard from a pull down menu. Upon
selection of the Annunciator Panel Wizard, a dialog box 68 is
presented, as shown in FIG. 13, to the integrator with the
following configuration items. First, the annunciator panel 12 is
identified by entering its name in the Annunciator Panel Name field
70 (i.e., "Panel 1"). The integrator can enter up to 25 characters
for this name. It is important to note that the Annunciator Panel
Name is later used as a prefix for all indirect and direct tags
created by the wizard. Next, the Security Access Level is entered
into the corresponding field 72 of the dialog box 68. The default
value is zero. The security access value defines the level of
access required by the user to reset the buttons 34 (or alarms)
displayed on the annunciator panel 12. The access level of each
user is stored in the Wonderware $AccessLevel which enables the
wizard to determine the level of access of the current user of the
annunciator panel. If the user's access level is below that of the
annunciator panel 12, the reset button 62 (see FIGS. 2 and 12) is
disabled, prohibiting the user from resetting any of the alarms
indicated on the annunciator panel.
[0047] Lastly, one of the 48 buttons 34 is selected to enable the
user to configure the text on each individual button of the
annunciator panel 12. Upon selecting a button by pointing and
clicking on the button, a second dialog box 76, titled "Enter
Description of Button", appears in the Annunciator Panel Display as
shown in FIG. 14. The second dialog box 76 permits the integrator
to enter three lines of text in three separate fields 78 associated
with the selected button 34. After the integrator has completed
entering the text, "OK" is selected to store the text for the
selected button. This is repeated for each button 34 to be
configured. Referring to FIG. 15, each time the integrator closes
the second dialog box 76, the first dialog box 68 appears showing
the integrator which panel buttons 34 have been configured via a
text string (e.g. "R1C1") appearing on each configured button.
[0048] After configuring the above information (for all panels
which are to be used) and selecting the "OK" button on the
Annunciator Panel Wizard first dialog box 68, the wizard creates a
plurality of tags, prefixed by the name entered for the annunciator
panel (e.g. Panel 1), assuming that they do not already exist. A
tag is a storage register that is accessible by a plurality of
applications to provide a communication link therebetween. The tags
created by the Annunciator Panel Wizard include 48 indirect analog
tags, one for each panel button 34, that are named xxxx.R1C1
through xxxx.R8C6. Further, the Annunciator Panel Wizard includes
two memory discrete tags named xxxx_Test, used to enable/disable a
Test function, and xxxx_Path, used for wizard internal use. The
prefix of each of the names of these tags is the name of the wizard
or annunciator panel (e.g. Panel 1).
[0049] The Annunciator Panel Wizard then displays the newly
configured annunciator panel 12 as shown in FIG. 16, which is
representative of the display the user will see. Each configured
panel button 34 includes the text entered in the second dialog box
76 of the Annunciator Panel Wizard of FIG. 14. Each panel button 34
can have five different colors, based on the state or condition of
the DDE Item 60 of the Event Logger 48 for the corresponding device
13 of the PMCS 10. A fill color animation link controlled by an
indirect integer tag will be used to change colors of the buttons.
For example, the fill color link of 0-9 is for the color "Dark
Gray", 10-19 for "Gray", 20-29 for Gray (also including a flashing
Red animation link), 30-39 for "Red" and greater than 40 for
"Yellow".
[0050] A blink link or flashing Red animation link provides the Red
blinking color for a fill color link of 20-29. This blink link is
activated whenever the button 34 is in the Alarm Active state OR a
test discrete tag is set (PanelName_Test).
[0051] When the status of a DDE Item 60 is "ON", the Event Logger
48 defines the alarm that appears to the Wonderware InTouch
Application as a DDE Integer item. An alarm can be one of the
following states or value: Normal (No Alarm) state; Alarm
Active--Unacknowledged state; Alarm Active--Acknowledged state,
Alarm Reset--Unacknowledged (Alarm occurred and automatically
reset) state; and Alarm Disabled (Event Logger disable the Alarm
Indicator) state. The Normal state has a DDE alarm value or tag
value between 10 and 19 that represents a default color of "Solid
Gray". The Alarm Active--Unacknowledged state has a tag value
between 20 and 29 that represents a default color of "Blinking
Red". The Alarm Active--Acknowledged state has a tag value between
30 and 39 that represents a default color of "Solid Red". The Alarm
Reset--Unacknowledged state has a tag value between 40 and 49 that
represents a default color of "Solid Yellow". The Alarm Disabled
state has a tag value between 0 and 9 that represents a default
color of "Dark Gray".
[0052] Each individual panel button 34 includes another animation
link having an action script that is used to Acknowledge a button
that is in an Unacknowledged state. The script will work as
follows:
[0053] IF button_state .EQ. Alarm, Unacknowledged THEN
[0054] button_state=Alarm+Acknowledged
[0055] ELSEIF button_state .EQ. Alarm_Reset, Unacknowledged
THEN
[0056] button_state=Alarm_Reset+Acknowledged
[0057] ENDIF
[0058] The actual code of the above script for the button R1C1
is:
[0059] {If Alarm Active+Unack, then Ack}
[0060] IF AP_Test_r1c2=20 THEN
[0061] AP_Test_r1c2=23;
[0062] ELSE
[0063] {If Alarm Reset+Unack, then Ack}
[0064] IF AP_Test_r1c2=40 THEN
[0065] AP_Test_r1c2=43;
[0066] ENDIF;
[0067] ENDIF;
[0068] By changing the button_state, the indirect integer tag
associated with the button 34 triggers the corresponding DDE Item
60 with which the indirect analog tag is associated. This will send
a DDE Poke to the Event Logger 48 allowing the Event Logger to
recognize the change in state of the alarm button or indicator 34.
Each panel button 34 will only be enabled when it's corresponding
Alarm is in an unacknowledged state (e.g. value=20 or value=40).
After poking the Acknowledge over to the Event Logger 48, the
buttons 34 will not change color until the Event Logger sends a
data change value back (via DDE server), changing the button to a
new state.
[0069] After the Annunciator Panel Wizard has been configured, the
integrator has two steps remaining in order to get the complete
annunciator panel functionality in the InTouch application. First,
the integrator creates InTouch DDE tags for the DDE Items 60 in the
Event Logger 48 that correspond to the Alarm panel buttons 34 of
the annunciator panel 12. Second, a script is created that
associates the InTouch indirect tags (created by the wizard) with
the InTouch DDE tags created above. An example of this simple
script is shown below:
[0070] Panel 1_R1C1.Name=ALARM.sub.--1.Name;
[0071] Panel 1_R1C2.Name=ALARM.sub.--52B.Name;
[0072] Panel 1_R1C3.Name=XFORMER.sub.--1_ALM.Name;
. . .
[0073] Panel 1_R8C4.Name=ALARM.sub.--16.Name;
[0074] Panel 1_R8C5.Name=ALARM.sub.--25.Name;
[0075] Panel 1_R8C6.Name=MAIN_BRKR_ALARM.Name;
[0076] The above two steps can not be automated by the Annunciator
Panel Wizard without restricting the functionality of the
annunciator panel 12, and due to the fact that the wizard can not
create a script that is run when an application is started. Another
benefit of using Indirect tags in the wizard is that one
annunciator panel 12 can be used for multiple devices 13 (of the
same type), and that one annunciator panel can communicate with
multiple Event Loggers 48 at the same time.
[0077] From the Event Logger's perspective, there are two parts to
configuring the annunciator panel 12. First, each DDE item 60 that
will be displayed on the Annunciator Panel Wizard must be added at
the Event Logger 48 (using the Add items dialog). Each DDE item 60
will connect to an individual button 34 in the Annunciator Panel
Wizard.
[0078] The second part includes defining events 62 (see FIGS. 10
and 11) which will turn individual DDE Alarm items 60 ON or OFF.
Each DDE Alarm item 60 (or annunciator panel button 34) can be
turned on or off by any number of device events 62 defined by the
integrator. The events 62 are logically ORed together to determine
ON or OFF conditions; i.e., if any of the events occurs, the DDE
item 60 in ON; if none of the events 62 have occurred, the DDE item
remains OFF.
[0079] To configure the annunciator panel items in the Event Logger
48, the integrator displays the Annunciator Panel Configuration
dialog box 80 as shown in FIG. 17. The selection of the ITEMS
button 82 opens the Annunciator Panel Item window 84 shown in FIG.
18 which permits the integrator to configure particular DDE Items
60 to be available to other applications. The Annunciator Panel
Items window 84 displays all the existing DDE Items 60 available to
the annunciator panel buttons 34. A Panel Item 86 may be deleted
from the Existing Item List 88 by highlighting the Panel Item and
selecting the DELETE button 90. At a confirmation dialog box (not
shown), the OK button is selected to delete the Panel Item 86.
[0080] A Panel Item 86 may be added to the Existing Item List 88 by
selecting the ADD button 92 which displays the Annunciator Panel
Items Add window 94, shown in FIG. 19. The integrator then enters
an Item Name, Description and Group for this item in the respective
fields 95-97. The Item name 95 of these entries are used when
writing the script that associates the InTouch indirect tags with
the InTouch DDE tags created in the Event Logger 48, as described
hereinabove.
[0081] To modify an existing DDE Item 60, the DDE Item in the
Annunciator Panel Items window 84 of FIG. 18 is highlighted and the
Modify button 98 of is selected which displays the Annunciator
Panel items Add window 94 of FIG. 19. The integrator then makes any
changes to the Item Name, Description or Group fields 95-97 and
clicks OK.
[0082] Referring back to the Annunciator Panel Configuration window
80 of FIG. 17, the integrator select the Events button 100 to
configure or modify the events 62 associated with an existing
Annunciator Panel Item 86. Selecting of the Events button 100
displays the Annunciator Panel Events dialog box 102 of FIG. 20.
The Panel Item 86 to be configured is selected from the pull down
menu in the Item Name field 104. A second field 106 then displays
the list of devices 13 and corresponding event codes 108 for each
of the selected devices. The integrator may change the devices and
event codes listed for the Panel Item 86 by selecting one of the
Add, Delete and Modify buttons 110-112, respectively. A device may
be deleted from the list by highlighting the device 13 and
selecting the Delete button 111. A device 13 may be added by
selecting the Add button 110 that displays the Annunciator Panel
Events Add dialog box 114 shown in FIG. 21. In the Annunciator
Panel Events Add dialog box 114, the Item Name 86 shows the
currently selected DDE Item 60. The integrator selects a device 13
from the Device Name pulldown menu 116 and then enters an event
code 108 in the Event field 118 that the Event Logger 48 monitors.
In the Action filed, the integrator selects whether this event will
cause an "ON" or "OFF" condition of this DDE Item 60. The "OK"
button 120 is selected to close the dialog box 114 and save the
Panel Event 86 to the DDE Item 60.
[0083] As described hereinbefore, if any of the event code 108 of
the device selected for a DDE Item 60 is detected, the annunciator
panel button 34 associated with the DDE Item, through the indirect
tags, changes the color of the panel button 34 in accordance with
the type of fault detected.
[0084] While preferred embodiments have been shown and described,
various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly,
it is to be understood that the present invention has been
described by way of illustrations and not limitation.
* * * * *