JP7639093B2 - Operator screen switching preview - Google Patents

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/243,176, entitled "Operator Display Switching Preview," filed Aug. 22, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

The present disclosure relates generally to process control systems and, more particularly, to a user interface device that allows an operator to preview one portion of a process plant while simultaneously viewing another portion of the process plant.

Distributed process control systems, such as those used in chemical, petroleum, industrial, or other processes, generally include one or more process controllers and input/output (I/O) devices communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator interface and one or more field devices via an analog, digital, or mixed analog/digital bus, or via a wireless communication link or network. The field devices, which may be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches, transmitters (e.g., temperature sensors, pressure sensors, water level sensors, and flow sensors), are positioned within the process environment and typically perform physical or process control functions, such as opening and closing valves, measuring process parameters that control one or more process executions within a process plant or system. Smart field devices, such as field devices conforming to the well-known Fieldbus protocol, may also perform control calculations, alarm functions, and other control functions typically implemented within a controller. A process controller, also generally located within a plant environment, executes a controller application that executes different control modules that receive signals indicative of process measurements made by sensors or field devices and/or other information regarding the field devices, e.g., make process control decisions and generate control signals based on the received information, and interface with control modules or blocks that execute in field devices, such as HART®, Wireless HART®, and FOUNDATION® Fieldbus field devices. The control modules within the controller send control signals over communication lines or links to the field devices, thereby controlling the operation of at least a portion of a process plant or system.

Information from the field devices and controllers is typically made available via a data highway to one or more other hardware devices, such as operator interfaces, personal computers or computing devices, data historians, report generators, centralized databases, or other centralized computing devices, which are generally located in a control room or other location away from the harsher plant environment. Each of these hardware devices is generally, but not always, centralized throughout the process plant or throughout portions of the process plant. These hardware devices execute applications that may enable operators to perform functions related to the control of the process and/or operation of the process plant, such as, for example, changing settings of process control routines, modifying the operation of control modules in controllers or field devices, viewing the current state of the process, viewing alarms generated by field devices and controllers, simulating the operation of the process for purposes of training personnel or testing process control software, maintaining and updating configuration databases, etc. Utilizing the data highway by the hardware devices, the controllers and field devices may include wired communication paths, wireless communication paths, or a combination of wired or wireless communication paths.

As an example, the DeltaV™ control system sold by Emerson Process Management includes multiple applications stored in and executed by different devices located at various locations within a process plant. Each of these applications provides a user interface (UI) that allows a user (e.g., a configuration engineer, an operator, a maintenance technician, etc.) to view and/or modify aspects of the operation and configuration of the process plant. Throughout this specification, the term "user interface" or "UI" is used to refer to an application or screen that allows a user to view or modify the configuration, operation, or status of the process plant. Similarly, the term "user interface device" or "UI device" is used to refer to the device on which the user interface is operating, whether the device is fixed (e.g., a workstation, a wall-mounted display, a process control device display, etc.) or portable (e.g., a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.). Configuration applications residing in one or more operator workstations or computing devices enable users to create or modify process control modules and download these process control modules over a data highway to the dedicated distributed controllers. Generally, these control modules are composed of communicatively interconnected function blocks that perform functions within a control scheme based on inputs thereto and provide outputs to other function blocks in the control scheme. The configuration application may also enable the configuration engineer to create or modify operator interfaces that are used by the viewing application to display data to the operator and to allow the operator to change settings, such as set points, within the process control routines. Each dedicated controller, and in some cases, one or more field devices, stores and executes a respective controller application that executes the control modules assigned to and downloaded thereto to implement the actual process control functions. A viewing application may run on one or more operator workstations (or one or more remote computing devices communicatively connected to the operator workstations and the data highway) that receives data from the controller application over the data highway and may display this data to a process control system engineer, operator, or user using a UI to provide any of several different views, such as an operator's view, an engineer's view, a technician's view, etc. While the data historian application is generally stored in and executed by a data historian device that collects and stores some or all of the data provided over the data highway, the configuration database application may run on a more remote computer attached to the data highway to store the current process control routine configuration and data associated therewith. Alternatively, the configuration database may be located on the same workstation as the configuration application.

As discussed above, operator display applications are generally implemented on a system broadly based on one or more workstations and provide displays to an operator or maintenance personnel based on the operational status of devices within a control system or plant. Generally, these displays take the form of alarm displays that receive alarms generated by controllers or devices within the process plant, control displays that indicate the operational status of controllers and other devices within the process plant, maintenance displays that indicate the operational status of devices within the process plant, and the like. These displays are generally configured to display information or data received from process control modules, or devices within the process plant, in a known manner. In some known systems, the display has graphics associated with physical or logical elements that are communicatively coupled to the physical or logical elements to receive data regarding the physical or logical elements. The graphics may be changed on the display screen based on the received data, for example, to illustrate a half-full tank or to illustrate a flow rate measured by a flow sensor.

In some known systems, a UI draws a process section that represents a portion of a process plant. To view other portions of the process plant, the UI may include an off-sheet connector that shows a connection to another process section not included in the currently displayed UI. When the operator selects an off-sheet connector, the current UI may be replaced with a new UI that draws the other process section. For example, one UI draws a process section for a crude oil heater that includes an off-sheet connector. When the off-sheet connector is selected, another UI is presented that draws the process section for a crude oil tower.

In this manner, the UI changes completely without any overlap between process sections in the display. As a result, the operator must re-orient himself each time a new UI is presented. While viewing the new UI, the operator may need to recall the previous UI, including the location of the process sections rendered in the previous UI in relation to the location of the current process section rendered in the new UI. Thus, the operator may need to switch back and forth between UIs several times to recall the configuration and/or process entity data of one process section while viewing another process section.

The user interface device presents a display screen having user controls, such as a search tool, a navigation bar, or an off-sheet connector, that allows a user to preview a process section depicting a portion of a process plant (the "previewed process section") and/or the status of a portion of the process plant while simultaneously observing a currently viewed process section depicting another portion of the process plant (the "viewed process section"). In some embodiments, the previewed process section is connected to a viewed process section in the process plant. For example, an output of the viewed process section may be fed as an input of the previewed process section. In other embodiments, the previewed process section is adjacent to the viewed process section, but the process sections are not connected to each other. In yet other embodiments, the previewed process section is an unconnected and non-adjacent process section.

In some embodiments, the search tool may provide search results of other process sections, with each search result item including a preview of the corresponding process section. In other embodiments, the navigation bar provides a navigation "breadcrumb" that depicts a hierarchical navigation trail within the process plant, with the previewed process sections corresponding to the navigation trail and/or hierarchical levels within the navigation trail. In yet other embodiments, selecting an off-sheet connection results in previewing one or more status indicators of the previewed process section that corresponds to the off-sheet connector.

The user interface device is connected to online process measurements and online process plant entities so that the status of the previewed process section (e.g., alerts, alarms, number of alerts/alarms, etc.) may be displayed to the operator. In some embodiments, the previewed process section and/or the previewed process section status may be presented in a window that overlays a display of the viewed process section on a display screen and/or adjacent or proximate to user controls.

The user interface device may also include user controls for switching from the preview mode to a full view mode and selecting a process section to view in the full view mode. The full view mode may include a complete display of only one of the process sections. For example, an operator may tap, double tap, tap and hold, drag, click, double click, click and hold, click and drag, etc., on the previewed process section to view the previewed process section in the full view mode. In response to receiving input from the operator, the previewed process section may be displayed filling the entire display screen without including the viewed process section. In another example, an operator may tap, double tap, tap and hold, click, double click, click and hold, etc., on the viewed process section to return to the full view mode for the viewed process section.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a distributed process control network including a user interface device located within a process plant that displays to an operator a preview of a process section within the process plant. FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an exemplary user interface device as illustrated generally in FIG. 1A. 1 is a screen display in full view mode depicting a process section within a process plant and an off-sheet connector. 1 is a screen display in preview mode depicting a portion of a process section and a portion of another process section. 2C is the screen display illustrated in FIG. 2B including user controls for switching from preview mode to full view mode. 2C is a screen display in full view mode responsive to receiving an input from an operator to switch from preview mode to full view mode, depicting another process section from the preview mode illustrated in FIG. 2B. A screen display in preview mode that renders a process section and a window that overlays the process section and contains other process sections. 1 is a screen display in full view mode depicting a process section and user controls for viewing and/or previewing adjacent process sections within a process plant. A partial screen display that may be presented in a window overlaying the process section, depicting the search results including the search display and other process sections in the search results. 1 is a screen display in preview mode depicting a process section and a window overlaying the process section and including other process sections in a navigation trail of the hierarchy of the process section relative to the hierarchical structure of the process control plant. A screen display in preview mode that renders a process section and a window that overlays the process section and contains a status summary of other process sections. FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for previewing a process section in a process plant.

1A is a block diagram of an example process control network 100 operating in a process control system or process plant 10. The process control network 100 may include a network backbone 105 that provides direct or indirect connectivity between various other devices. Devices coupled to the network backbone 105 include, in various embodiments, an access point 72, a gateway 75 to other process plants (e.g., via an intranet or corporate wide area network), a gateway 78 to external systems (e.g., to the Internet), a UI device 112 that may be fixed (e.g., a traditional operator workstation) or a mobile computing device (e.g., a mobile device smartphone), a server 150, a controller 11, input/output (I/O) cards 26 and 28, wired field devices 15-22, a wireless gateway 35, and a wireless communication network 70 in combination. The communication network 70 may include wireless devices 40-58, including wireless field devices 40-46, wireless adapters 52a and 52b, access points 55a and 55b, and a router 58. The wireless adapters 52a and 52b may be connected to the non-wireless field devices 48 and 50, respectively. The controller 11 may include a processor 30, a memory 32, and one or more control routines 38. Although FIG. 1A depicts only one of several devices connected to the network backbone 105, it will be understood that each of the devices may have multiple instances on the network backbone 105, and in fact the process plant 10 may include multiple network backbones 105.

The UI device 112 may be communicatively connected to the controller 11 and the wireless gateway 35 via the network backbone 105. The controller 11 may be communicatively connected to the wired field devices 15-22 via input/output (I/O) cards 26 and 28, and may be communicatively connected to the wireless field devices 40-46 via the network backbone 105 and the wireless gateway 35. The controller 11 may operate to implement a batch or continuous process using at least some of the field devices 15-22 and 40-46. The controller 11, which may be a DeltaV ^™ controller sold by Emerson Process Management, by way of example, is communicatively connected to the process control network backbone 105. The controller 11 may also be communicatively connected to the field devices 15-22 and 40-46 using any desired hardware and software, for example, standard 4-20 mA devices, I/O cards 26, 28, and/or associated with any smart communication protocol such as the FOUNDATION® Fieldbus protocol, the HART® protocol, the Wireless HART® protocol, etc. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, the controller 11, the field devices 15-22 and the I/O cards 26, 28 are wired devices and the field devices 40-46 are wireless field devices.

In operation of the UI device 112, the UI device 112, in some embodiments, may execute a user interface ("UI"), where the UI device 112 accepts input via an input interface and provides output to a display. The UI device 112 may receive data (e.g., data related to a process, such as process parameters, log data, sensor data, and/or any other data that may be captured and stored) from the server 150. In other embodiments, the UI may execute in whole or in part on the server 150, which may transmit display data to the UI device 112. The UI device 112 may receive UI data (which may include display data and process parameter data) from other nodes in the process control network 100, such as the controller 11, the wireless gateway 35, or the server 150, via the backbone 105. Based on the UI data received at the UI device 112, the UI device 112 may provide output (i.e., a visualization or graphic) that represents aspects of a process associated with the process control network 100, allowing a user to monitor the process. A user may also affect the control of the process by providing input at the UI device 112. To illustrate, the UI device 112 may provide a graphic that represents, for example, a tank filling process. In such a scenario, a user may read a water level measurement in a tank and determine that the tank needs to be filled. The user may interact with an inlet valve graphic displayed on the UI device 112 and input a command that the inlet valve open.

In some embodiments, the UI device 112 may implement any type of client, such as a thin client, a web client, or a thick client. For example, the UI device 112 may rely on other nodes, computers, UI devices, or servers for most of the processes required for the operation of the UI device 112, such as when the UI device has limited memory or battery power (e.g., in a wearable device). In such an example, the UI device 112 may communicate with a server 150 or another UI device, which may then communicate with one or more other nodes (e.g., servers) on the process control network 100 and determine display and/or process data to send to the UI device 112. Additionally, the UI device 112 may pass any data associated with the received user input to the server 150 so that the server 150 can process the data associated with the user input and act accordingly. In other words, the UI device 112 need only render graphics and may act as a portal to one or more nodes or servers that store data and execute routines necessary for the operation of the UI device 112. Thin-client UI devices offer the advantage of minimal hardware requirements for the UI device 112.

In other embodiments, the UI device 112 may be a web client. In such an embodiment, a user of the UI device 112 may interact with the process control system through a browser on the UI device 112. The browser allows the user to access data and resources of another node or server 150 (such as server 150) through the backbone 105. For example, the browser may receive UI data, such as display data or process parameter data, from the server 150, allowing the browser to draw shapes for controlling and/or monitoring part or all of the process. The browser may also receive user input (such as a mouse click on a shape). The user input may cause the browser to retrieve or access information resources stored on the server 150. For example, a mouse click may cause the browser to retrieve (from the server 150) and display information about the clicked shape.

In yet other embodiments, the majority of the processing of the UI device 112 may occur in the UI device 112. For example, the UI device 112 may execute the UI described above. The UI device 112 may also store, access, and analyze data locally.

In operation, a user may interact with the UI device 112 to monitor or control one or more devices in the process control network 100, such as any of the field devices 15-22 or devices 40-48. A user may interact with the UI device 112, for example, to modify or change parameters associated with a control routine stored in the controller 11. The processor 30 of the controller 11 implements or oversees one or more process control routines (stored in memory 32), which may include control loops. The processor 30 may communicate with the field devices 15-22 and 40-46, as well as other nodes communicatively connected to the backbone 105. It should be noted that any control routines or modules described herein (including quality prediction and fault detection modules or function blocks) may have portions implemented or performed by different controllers or other devices, if desired. Similarly, the control routines or modules described herein implemented within a process control system may take any form, including software, firmware, hardware, etc. The control routines may be implemented in any desired software format, such as using object-oriented programming, ladder logic, sequential function charts, function block diagrams, or any other software programming language or design paradigm. In particular, the control routines may be implemented by a user via the UI device 112. The control routines may be stored in any desired type of memory, such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM). Similarly, the control routines may be hard-coded, for example, in one or more EPROMs, EEPROMs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other hardware or firmware elements. Thus, the controller 11 may be configured (in one embodiment, by a user using the UI device 112) to implement the control strategies or control routines in any desired manner.

In some embodiments of the UI device 112, a user interacts with the UI device 112 to implement a control strategy in the controller 11 using what are generally referred to as function blocks, each of which is an object or other part (e.g., a subroutine) of an overall control routine and operates with other function blocks (through communications called links) to implement a process control loop within the process control system. A control-based function block generally performs one of the following functions: an input function associated with a transmitter, sensor or other process parameter measurement device; a control function associated with a control routine that controls PID, fuzzy logic, etc.; or an output function that controls the operation of some device, such as a valve, to perform some physical function within the process control system. Of course, hybrid and other types of function blocks exist. The function blocks may have a graphical representation provided on the UI device 112, allowing a user to easily modify the type of function block, the connections between the function blocks, and the inputs/outputs associated with each of the function blocks implemented in the process control system. The function blocks may be stored within and executed by the controller 11, which is generally the case when these function blocks are used for or associated with certain types of smart field devices, such as standard 4-20 mA devices and HART devices, or the function blocks may be stored within and implemented by the field device itself, which may be the case for Fieldbus devices. The controller 11 may include one or more control routines 38 that may implement one or more control loops. Each control loop, generally referred to as a control module, may be implemented by executing one or more function blocks.

1A, the wireless field devices 40-46 communicate within the wireless network 70 using a wireless protocol, such as the Wireless HART protocol. In certain embodiments, the UI device 112 may be capable of communicating with the wireless field devices 40-46 using the wireless network 70. Such wireless field devices 40-46 may communicate directly with one or more other nodes of the process control network 100 that are also configured to communicate wirelessly (e.g., using a wireless protocol). To communicate with one or more other nodes that are not configured to communicate wirelessly, the wireless field devices 40-46 may utilize a wireless gateway 35 connected to the backbone 105. Of course, the field devices 15-22 and 40-46 may conform to any wired or wireless protocol, including any other desired standard(s) or protocol, such as any standard or protocol developed in the future.

The wireless gateway 35 is an example of a provider device that may provide access to the various wireless devices 40-58 of the wireless communication network 70. In particular, the wireless gateway 35 provides a communicative link between the wireless devices 40-58 and other nodes of the process control network 100 (including the controller 11 of FIG. 1A). The wireless gateway 35 provides a communicative link while tunneling one or more shared layers of the wired and wireless protocol stacks, in some cases by providing routing, buffering, and timing services to the lower layers of the wired and wireless protocol stacks (e.g., address translation, routing, packet segmentation, prioritization, etc.). In other cases, the wireless gateway 35 may translate commands between wired and wireless protocols that do not share protocol layers.

Similar to the wired field devices 15-22, the wireless field devices 40-46 of the wireless network 70 may perform physical control functions, such as opening and closing valves, or obtain measurements of process parameters within the process plant 10. However, the wireless field devices 40-46 are configured to communicate using the wireless protocol of the network 70. In this manner, the wireless field devices 40-46, the wireless gateways, and the other wireless nodes 52-58 of the wireless network 70 are producers and consumers of wireless communication packets.

In some scenarios, the wireless network 70 may include non-wireless devices. For example, the field device 48 of FIG. 1A may be a legacy 4-20 mA device, and the field device 50 may be a conventional wired HART device. To communicate within the network 70, the field devices 48 and 50 may be connected to the wireless communication network 70 via wireless adapters (WA) 52a or 52b. In addition, the wireless adapters 52a, 52b may support other communication protocols such as Foundation® Fieldbus, PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, etc. Furthermore, the wireless network 70 may include one or more network access points 55a, 55b, which may be separate physical devices in wired communication with the wireless gateway 35 or may be provided within the wireless gateway 35 as an integrated device. The wireless network 70 may also include one or more routers 58 that forward packets from one wireless device to another wireless device within the wireless communication network 70. The wireless devices 32-46 and 52-58 may communicate with each other and with the wireless gateway 35 via wireless links 60 of the wireless communication network 70.

In some embodiments, the process control network 100 may include other nodes connected to the network backbone 105 that communicate using other wireless protocols. For example, the process control network 100 may include one or more other wireless access points 72 that use other wireless protocols, such as Wi-Fi or other IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless local area network protocols, mobile communication protocols, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) or other ITU-R (International Telecommunication Union Radio Communication Sector) compatible protocols, shortwave wireless communications, such as Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth, or other wireless communication protocols. generally,
Such wireless access points 72 enable handheld or other portable computing devices to communicate over a respective wireless network that is different from the wireless network 70 and that supports a different wireless protocol than the wireless network 70. In some embodiments, the UI device 112 uses the wireless access point 72 to communicate over the process control network 100. In some scenarios, in addition to portable computing devices, one or more process control devices (e.g., the controller 11, the field devices 15-22, or the wireless devices 35, 40-58) may also communicate using the wireless network supported by the access point 72.

Additionally or alternatively, the provider device may include one or more gateways 75, 78 to systems external to the instant process control system. In such an embodiment, the UI device 112 may be used to control, monitor, or otherwise communicate with the external systems. Generally, such systems are customers or providers of information generated or manipulated by the process control system. For example, the plant gateway node 75 may communicatively connect the instant process plant 10 (with its own respective process control data network backbone 105) to another process plant with its own respective network backbone. In an embodiment, a single network backbone 105 may serve multiple process plants or process control environments.

In another example, the plant gateway node 75 may communicatively connect the immediate process plant to a legacy or conventional process plant that does not include the process control network 100 or backbone 105. In this example, the plant gateway node 75 may convert or translate messages between a protocol utilized by the process control big data backbone 105 of the plant 10 and a different protocol utilized by the legacy system (e.g., Ethernet, Profibus, Fieldbus, DeviceNet, etc.). In such an example, the UI device 112 may be used to control, monitor, or otherwise communicate with a system or network within the legacy or conventional process plant.

The provider device may include one or more external system gateway nodes 78 to communicatively connect the process control network 100 to external public or private systems, such as laboratory systems (e.g., a Laboratory Information Management System, or LIMS), personnel round databases, material handling systems, maintenance management systems, product inventory control systems, production management systems, weather data systems, shipping and handling systems, packaging systems, the Internet, another provider's process control system, or other external systems. The external system gateway nodes 78 may, for example, facilitate communication between the process control system and personnel outside the process plant (e.g., personnel at home).

While FIG. 1A illustrates a single controller 11 with a finite number of field devices 15-22 and 40-46, this is merely an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment. Any number of controllers 11 may be included in the provider device of the process control network 100, and any controller 11 may communicate with any number of wired or non-wired field devices 15-22, 40-46 to control the process of the plant 10. Additionally, the process plant 10 may also include any number of wireless gateways 35, routers 58, access points 55, wireless process control communication networks 70, access points 72, and/or gateways 75, 78.

1B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary UI device 112. The UI device 112 may be a desktop computer, such as a conventional operator workstation, a control room display, or a desktop computer, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile device, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wearable computing device, or any other suitable client computing device. The UI device 112 may include a display 84. Additionally, the UI device 112 includes one or more processors or CPUs 88, memory 52, random access memory (RAM) 90, input/output (I/O) circuitry 92, and a communication unit 58 for transmitting and receiving data over a local area network, a wide area network, or any other suitable network. The UI device 112 may communicate with the controller 11, a server 150, and/or any other suitable computing device.

The memory 52 may include an operating system 78 and a control unit 44 that controls the display 84 and communicates with the controller 11 to control the on-line operation of the process plant. In some embodiments, the server 150 may transmit a graphical representation of a portion of the process plant to the UI device 112, and the control unit 44 may then cause the display 84 to present the graphical representation of the portion of the process plant. In addition, the control unit 44 obtains user input from the I/O circuitry 92, such as user input from an operator (also referred to herein as a user), and translates the user input into a request to display a preview of a process section that is not currently displayed, a request to display a full view of a process section that is not currently displayed, a request to switch from a preview mode to a full view mode and display one of the process sections in the full view mode, a request to display an adjustment of a process parameter included in one of the process sections, etc.

In some embodiments, the control unit 44 may communicate the translated user input to the server 150, which may generate a UI that requests and send it to the UI device 112 for display. In other embodiments, the control unit 44 may generate a new UI based on the translated user input and present the new UI on the display 84 of the UI device 112. If the translated user input is a request to display an adjustment to a process parameter included in one of the process sections, the control unit 44 may determine whether the process parameter is locked. If the process parameter is locked, the control unit 44 may not adjust the process parameter and may present a message indicating that the process parameter is locked and cannot be adjusted on the display 84 of the UI device 112. If the process parameter is not locked, the control unit 44 may adjust the process parameter value on the display 84 according to the user input from the operator and may provide instructions to the controller 11 to adjust the process parameter in the process plant. In other embodiments, the control unit 44 may communicate the translated user input to the server 150, which may generate and transmit adjusted process parameter values to the UI device 112 for display, and provide instructions to the controller 11 to adjust the process parameters in the process plant.

2A illustrates an example screen display 200 in full view mode depicting a crude heater process section 202 and off-sheet connectors 204 within the process plant 10. In some embodiments, the screen display 200 may be presented on the display 84 of the UI device 112. The crude heater process section 202 may include graphical representations of process plant entities, connections between process plant entities, process parameter values, and alarms.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the crude oil heater process section 202 includes two tanks 210, 214, four pumps 212, 216, 226, 230, and nine valves 218.
, 222, 228, 232, 236, 240, 242, 244, 248, four heat exchangers 220, 224, 234, 238, and a heated crude oil output 250. Additionally, screen display 200 may include process parameter values and alarms associated with the different process plant entities, such as a tank level value 210a associated with tank 210, a pump speed 212a associated with pump 212, and a valve open percentage 218a associated with valve 218. Set values may also be displayed along with the process parameter values on screen display 200. In some embodiments, an operator may adjust the process parameter values, and more specifically, the set values, via touch gestures if display 84 is a touch screen, or via mouse clicks.

For example, the operator may tap or click on a graphical representation of a process plant entity, and as a result, the screen display 200 may present a faceplate to allow the operator to adjust the process parameter value of the process plant entity using a slider bar, a graphical representation of a dial, or the like. In another example, the operator may perform various touch gestures or mouse clicks on the graphical representation of the process plant entity to adjust the process parameter value of the process plant entity. More specifically, the operator may perform a drag gesture or click-and-drag to adjust a tank level value of a tank or a temperature setting of a heat exchanger, may perform a rotate gesture to adjust the speed of a pump, may perform a pinch-and-spread gesture to adjust the valve open percentage of a valve, etc. These are merely examples of gestures and/or mouse clicks that may be used to adjust a process parameter value, however, any suitable gesture or mouse click may be used to adjust the process parameter value of any suitable process plant entity within a process plant. In yet another example, the operator may type a new process parameter value via a hardware or software keyboard. The operator may click or tap on the graphical representation of a process plant entity to pull up a dialog box that allows the operator to enter new process parameter values.

In any event, if the process parameter values reflect actual values ("raw data") within the online process plant 10, the control module 44 may provide instructions to the controller 11 to adjust the process parameters of the online process plant to setpoints. On the other hand, if the process parameter values are simulated values, the control module 44 may present the adjusted process parameter values on the screen display 200.

The off-sheet connector 204 is connected to the heated crude output 250 and includes an indication of connection to the overhead process section. In some embodiments, the off-sheet connector 204 receives user input from an operator, and based on the user input, the UI device 112 may display the overhead process section along with the crude heater process section in full view mode or preview mode. For example, if a user input such as a double tap, double click of a mouse, tap and hold, click and hold, etc. is received at the off-sheet connector 204, the UI device 112 may display the overhead process section in full view mode, as described in more detail in FIG. 2D. If an alternative user input such as a tap, single click, slide, click and drag, mouse hover, etc. is received at the off-sheet connector 204, the UI device 112 may display the overhead process section in preview mode, as described in more detail in FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, and FIG. 3. These are merely examples of inputs that may be used to view the process section in preview or full view mode, although any suitable gesture or mouse action may be provided as user input.

If the operator provides an alternative user input indicating a request to view the overhead process section in preview mode, the UI device 112 may display the crude heater process section 202 or a portion thereof, the overhead process section or a portion thereof, and the intersection of the crude heater and the overhead process section. In some embodiments, the process sections may be displayed side-by-side, above and below each other, or in any other suitable manner. Also, in some embodiments, the location of the process sections on the display may be based on the direction in which the previewed process section fades off the page. For example, if the previewed process section is positioned to the right or left of the currently viewed process section on the screen display 200 (or a larger screen display that includes both process sections), the process sections may be displayed side-by-side in preview mode. If the previewed process section is positioned above or below the currently viewed process section on the screen display 200 (or a larger screen display that includes both process sections), the process sections may be displayed above and below each other in preview mode.

FIG. 2B depicts an exemplary screen display 260 in preview mode depicting a portion 202 of a viewed process section (the crude heater process section of FIG. 2A) and a portion 262 of a previewed process section (the overhead process section). In some embodiments, the previewed process section may be a process section upstream or downstream of the currently viewed process section (the "viewed process section"). A downstream process section may be a process section connected to another process section having as an input the output of the other process section. An upstream process section may be a process section connected to another process section having as an output the input of the other process section. For example, the overhead process section 262 may be a downstream process section of the crude heater process section 202 because the heated crude output of the crude heater process section 202 is an input of the overhead process section 262. An off-sheet connector 204 may represent a connection between the heated crude output 250 of the crude heater process section 202 and the overhead process section 262. In other embodiments, the previewed process section is adjacent to the viewed process section in the process plant 10, but the process sections do not need to share a connection.

The screen display 260 further includes an intersection 264 between the viewed process section 202 and the previewed process section 262. The intersection 264 may be a dividing line between the process sections 202, 262 or any other suitable boundary separating the process sections 202, 262. As shown in FIG. 2B, to fit both process sections 202, 262 within the screen display 260, a portion of each of the process sections 202, 262 may be included. For example, the graphical representation of the process plant entity closest to the intersection of both the viewed and previewed process sections 202, 262 may be included, while the graphical representation of the remaining process plant entity may be deleted. More specifically, to fit both process sections 202, 262 within the screen display 260, the screen size of each process section 202, 262 may be reduced by half. Thus, the half of each of the process sections 202, 262 away from the intersection 262 (e.g., the left half of the viewed process section 202) may be removed, and the half of each of the process sections 202, 262 closer to the intersection may not be lost. Additionally or alternatively, the screen size of each process section 202, 262 may be reduced by two-thirds, three-quarters, four-fifths, or any suitable amount.

In some embodiments, the operator may perform a slide gesture, if the display 84 is a touch screen, or a click and drag of the mouse, from the location of the off-sheet connector 204 as shown in FIG. 2A, or any other suitable location on the display 84, to request the preview mode. Once the screen display 260 is presented on the UI device 112, the operator may continue to slide or click and drag to adjust the size, amount of screen space of each of the process sections 202, 262. For example, as the operator slides or clicks and drags to the left, the portion of the process section 262 that is previewed may increase, while the portion of the process section 202 that is viewed may decrease.

For example, referring to FIG. 2C, another screen display 280 is illustrated with the previewed process section 262 occupying a larger amount of the screen display 280 than the viewed process section 202, while in FIG. 2B, the viewed process section 202 occupies a larger amount of the screen display 260 than the previewed process section 262. The difference between the two screen displays 260, 280 may be the result of an operator sliding or clicking and dragging to the left. In another example, as the operator slides or clicks and drags to the right, the portion of the viewed process section 202 may increase, while the portion of the previewed process section 262 may decrease. In other scenarios, the previewed process section 262 may be positioned to the left of the viewed process section 202, and the process sections 202, 262 may be one above the other in the screen display 260, such that the amount of screen space for the process sections 202, 262 may increase/decrease as the operator slides or clicks and drags up and down, or may be organized in any other suitable manner. Therefore, these examples are merely for ease of explanation, and the amount of screen space for each of the process sections 202, 262 may be adjusted in any appropriate manner in proportion to the amount the operator slides or clicks and drags.

As discussed above, each of the process sections 202, 262 may include process parameter values that may be adjusted by an operator, such as tank water level values, pump speeds, valve open percentages, temperatures, etc. Thus, the screen display 260 may include raw data reflecting actual measurements of the viewed and previewed process sections 202, 262 within the online process plant 10.

When the user interface device 112 presents a UI in a preview mode, such as screen display 260, screen display 260 may be locked so that the operator does not have to adjust the process parameter values of the viewed process section 202 or the previewed process section 262. In other embodiments, the process parameters of the previewed process section 262 may be locked while the process parameters of the viewed process section 202 are not locked. In this manner, the operator may adjust the process parameters of the viewed process section 202 while viewing the configuration and/or process parameters of the previewed process section 262. In yet other embodiments, the process parameters of either process section 202, 262 may not be locked, and the process parameters of the viewed process section 202 may be locked while the process parameters of the previewed process section 262 are not locked. In this manner, the operator may adjust the process parameters in the previewed process section 262 without fully proceeding to a new display. Then, after the process parameters in the previewed process section 262 have been adjusted, the operator may provide a user input to return the viewed process section 202 to a full view mode, as described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 2C and 2D.

While the preview mode screen display 260 depicts a portion of the viewed process section 202 and the previewed process section 262 to fit both process sections 202, 262, this is just one embodiment. In another embodiment, both the viewed process section 202 and the previewed process section 262 may be scaled down to fit the screen display 260. For example, the graphical representation of the viewed and previewed process section in the preview mode of the process plant entity may be half the size of the graphical representation of the process plant entity in the full view mode. In some embodiments, the process plant entity may be scaled down to fit the screen display, while the process parameters, alarms, etc. may not be scaled down, so that the process parameters, alarms, etc. are visible to the operator.

Also, in some embodiments, the process parameters, alarms, etc. may be prioritized. For example, the server 150 may rank and/or assign a priority level to each of the process parameters, alarms, etc. on the screen display 260 by importance to the operator, risk of a dangerous situation, or any other suitable criteria. In another example, an operator may rank and/or assign a priority level to each of the process parameters, alarms, etc. on the screen display 260. In yet another example, the server 150 may obtain priority levels input from several operators and use the obtained priority levels to rank and/or assign a priority level to each of the process parameters, alarms, etc. on the screen display 260. In addition, each process parameter, alarm, etc. on the screen display 260 may be assigned a predetermined ranking and/or priority level. In any case, process parameters, alarms, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold and/or priority level (e.g., 3) may not be reduced, while the remaining process parameters, alarms, etc. on the screen display 260 may be reduced. In another embodiment, the preview mode screen display 260 may depict a portion of the viewed process section 202 and a reduced version of the previewed process section 262, or vice versa.

While the screen display 260 in preview mode includes two process sections, a viewed process section and a previewed process section, the preview mode may include any suitable number of process sections. For example, the operator may preview both upstream and downstream process sections, which may appear on either the left or right side of the viewed process section, or above or below the viewed process section, in the preview mode. In another example, the operator may preview all of the surrounding process sections adjacent to the viewed process section in the preview mode. This may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or any suitable number of process sections.

When an operator is in preview mode, he or she may want to switch back to full view mode to view a full display of the viewed process section 202 or the previewed process section 262. FIG. 2C illustrates another preview mode screen display 280, similar to the screen display 260 of FIG. 2B, including user controls 282 for switching from preview mode to full view mode. In FIG. 2B, the screen display 280 includes a portion of the viewed process section 202, a portion of the previewed process section 262, and an intersection 264 of the viewed process section 202 and the previewed process section 262.

In some embodiments, the operator may use the user controls 282 by controlling a mouse or by making gestures if the display 84 of the UI device 112 is a touch screen. If the display 84 of the UI device 112 is a touch screen, the user controls 282 may be invisible on the display screen 280. In any case, the operator may select one of the process sections 202, 262 to display in full view mode by tapping, clicking, double tapping, double clicking, etc., on a portion of the display screen 280 that corresponds to the desired process section that the operator wishes to display in full view mode. For example, if the operator wishes to display the previewed process section 262 in full view mode, the operator may double tap or double click on the right side of the screen display 280.

In some embodiments, the operator may select one of the process sections 202, 262 as an intermediate stage before the process sections are displayed in full view mode. The selected process section may become the primary process section, such that the process parameters of the selected process section are adjustable, while the process parameters of the non-selected process sections may be locked.

For example, the operator may click, tap, or hover over a portion on the display screen 280 that corresponds to the selected process section. The screen display 280 may present an identifier for the selected process section, for example, by placing a bounded box around the selected process section or by darkening the border 284. The operator may then click or tap a second time to confirm that the selected process section is the process section to display in full view mode.

Selection of one of the process sections 202, 262 may also provide additional adjustments to the settings of the screen display 280. For example, the selected process section may be assigned a higher priority level than the priority level assigned to the non-selected process sections. In this manner, the selected process section may become the primary process section.

In an exemplary scenario, initially, neither process section 202, 262 on screen display 280 is selected. As a result, the process parameters of both process sections 202, 262 are locked and the operator cannot make any adjustments to screen display 280, which includes the raw data of both viewed process section 202 and previewed process section 262. When the operator selects viewed process section 202 by clicking, tapping, or hovering over viewed process section 202, the process parameters of viewed process section 202 may become adjustable. When the operator then selects previewed process section 262 by clicking, tapping, or hovering over previewed process section 262, the process parameters of previewed process section 262 may become adjustable while the process parameters of viewed process section 202 may be locked. When the operator clicks or taps previewed process section 262 again, previewed process section 262 is displayed in full view mode and viewed process section 202 is removed from display.

2D illustrates an exemplary screen display 290 in a full view mode depicting the overhead process section 262. The screen display 290 may be presented on the UI device 112 by the operator double-clicking, double-tapping, or selecting and then clicking or tapping again on the previewed process section 262, as shown in FIG. 2C. As shown, the full view mode of the screen display 290 includes the entire overhead process section 262, rather than a portion or reduced version of the overhead process section 262, as described above. In some embodiments, the screen display 290 may include an off-sheet connector or other user control (not shown) for selecting another process section within the process plant 10 for viewing in the preview or full view mode.

In addition to displaying process sections side-by-side or above and below one another in preview mode, the previewed process section may be displayed in a window that overlays the viewed process section. In some embodiments, the viewed process section may be displayed in a window that contains the screen display. The previewed process section may be displayed in another window that overlays the viewed process section, the other window being smaller than the window that contains the screen display. For example, the other window may be half the size of the window that contains the screen display, a quarter the size of the window that contains the screen display, etc.

3 illustrates an example of an exemplary screen display 300 in a preview mode including a viewed process section 302 and a previewed process section 304 that renders a window 310 overlaying the viewed process section 302 and presents raw data from the process plant 10. The viewed and previewed process sections 302, 304 may be the viewed and previewed process sections 202, 262, or any other process sections presented in FIGS. 2A-2D. In some embodiments, the UI device 112, or more specifically the control unit 44, selects an empty portion of the screen display 300 to place the window 310, so that the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. on the viewed process section 302 are not obscured.

For example, the control unit 44 may determine the size of the area of the window 310. The control unit 44 may then locate the window 310 in an area on the screen display 300 that meets the size requirements and does not include process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. If the screen display 300 does not include free space that meets the size requirements of the window 310, the control unit 44 may shrink the viewed process section 302 until there is enough space available to place the window 310. In another example, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. of the viewed process section 302 may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. The window 310 may be placed above process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked below a ranking threshold that obscures these objects. In other embodiments, the server 150 may identify a location within the screen display 300 for placing the window 310.

In any event, the control unit 44 may present the previewed process section 304 within the window 310. In some embodiments, a portion of the previewed process section 304 may be displayed to fit within the window 310. In other embodiments, the previewed process section 304 may be reduced to fit within the window. For example, the previewed process section 304 may be reduced to midway between the ratio of the size of the window 310 and the size of the screen display 300. More specifically, if the window 310 was one-sixth the size of the screen display 300, the previewed process section 304 may be reduced to five-sixths.

In yet another embodiment, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. of the previewed process section 304 may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. The process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold may not be reduced, while the remaining process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may be reduced. In another example, only the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold and/or priority level may be included in the window 310. The ranking threshold and/or priority level may be determined as a function of the size of the window 310. As the size of the window 310 increases, more process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may fit within the window 310, and as a result, the ranking threshold and/or priority level may be lowered.

While the screen display 300 includes one window 310 displaying one previewed process section 304, this is for ease of illustration only. Any number of windows 310 may display any number of previewed process sections. For example, the screen display 300 may include two windows displaying previews of process sections upstream and downstream of the viewed process section 302. In another example, the screen display 300 may include four windows displaying previews of process sections adjacent to the viewed process section 302 within the process plant 10.

As described above, the operator may select an off-sheet connector of a process section in full view mode to view upstream or downstream process sections with the process section viewed in preview mode. In addition to previewing the process sections upstream and downstream of the viewed process section, the operator may preview adjacent process sections. FIG. 4 illustrates an example screen display 400 of the full view mode that depicts a process section 402 and user controls 404-410 that, when selected, cause the UI device 112 to present adjacent process sections corresponding to portions of the process plant 10 in full view mode or preview mode.

For example, if a user input, such as a double tap, a double click of a mouse, a tap and hold, a click and hold, etc., is received at one of the user controls 404-410, the UI device 112 may display the adjacent process section in a full view mode. If an alternative user input, such as a tap, a single click, a slide, a click and drag, a mouse hover, etc., is received at one of the user controls 404-410, the UI device 112 may display the adjacent process section in a preview mode, as described above in FIGS. 2B, 2C, and 3.

More specifically, the UI device 112 may select one of the process sections adjacent to the viewed process section 402 for display based on the orientation and/or position of the selected user control 404-410. If the selected user control is pointing to the left, the UI device 112 may display the process section adjacent to the left of the viewed process section 402. Also, if the selected user control is positioned in the left portion of the viewed process section 402, the UI device 112 may display the process section adjacent to the left of the viewed process section 402.

For example, if user input is received at user control 404, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections of the viewed process section 402 from above in full view mode. If alternative user input is received at user control 404, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections of the viewed process section 402 from above in preview mode.

In addition, if user input is received at the user control 406, the UI device 112
may display neighboring process sections in full view mode to the right of the viewed process section 402. If an alternative user input is received at the user control 406, the UI device 112 may display neighboring process sections in preview mode to the right of the viewed process section 402.

Additionally, if user input is received at user control 408, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections from below the viewed process section 402 in full view mode. If alternative user input is received at user control 408, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections from below the viewed process section 402 in preview mode.

Additionally, if user input is received at user control 410, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections to the viewed process section 402 in full view mode to the left. If alternative user input is received at user control 410, the UI device 112 may display adjacent process sections to the viewed process section 402 in preview mode to the left.

Although the user controls 404-410 are represented as arrows on the screen display 400, this is just one embodiment. The user controls 404-410 may be invisible on the screen display 400, or may be represented on the screen display 400 as circles, dots, or in any other suitable manner.

5 illustrates an exemplary search window 420 that may be overlaid on a viewed process section (not shown), including a search box 422 and search results 424-428, some or all of which include previewed process sections 430, 432 that correspond to the process sections of the search results. The viewed and previewed process sections may be the viewed and previewed process sections 202, 262 presented in FIGS. 2A-2D, or any other process sections. In one embodiment, the previewed process sections 430, 432 may be of a reduced or lower resolution than the previewed process sections 202, 262, and/or of a lower resolution than the viewed process sections. For example, the previewed process sections 430, 432 may show only the major components of the other process sections, omitting some of the finer details that would be shown in a full view of the other process sections. As an example, the full view section of FIG. 2D may be displayed as a preview section in the search results as icons of the tower heads and valves, but not as text, trend graphs, connection lines, etc.

For example, the control unit 44 may detect that the user is engaged in a search for another process section based on input of a query into the search box 422 (e.g., in response to the user double tapping, double clicking the mouse, tapping and holding, clicking and holding, typing, etc., in the search box 422). The control unit 44 may display results from the search results below the search box 422 or in any other suitable area of the display of the viewed area. For each search item 424-428 resulting from the search results, the control unit 44 may shrink the previewed process section 430, 432 to fit within the search result 430, 432 in a manner that conveys the content of the previewed process section. In other embodiments, the server 150 may identify locations for placing the search results 424-428 in the screen display.

In any event, the control unit 44 may present the previewed process sections 430, 432 within the search results 424-428. As discussed above, the previewed process sections 430, 432 may be scaled down to fit within the search results, taking into account the number of search results (e.g., more search results will further scale down the previewed process section to present all search results on the display screen).

In yet another embodiment, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. of the previewed process section 430, 432 may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. Process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold may not be collapsed, while the remaining process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may be collapsed. In another example, only process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold and/or priority level may be included in the search results 424-428. Because fewer search results are displayed, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may fit within the preview 430, 432, resulting in a lower ranking threshold and/or priority level. In yet another example, a previewed process section that has an alert or alarm may be highlighted compared to other search results by having a different animation, color, brightness, etc. than the other search results to draw attention to it.

Although the search window 420 includes one window and three search results 424-428, two of which include previews 430, 432, this is shown merely for ease of illustration. Any number of windows 420 may display any number of search results and/or any number of previewed process sections. In another example, the search window 420 may include multiple windows that display search results individually or according to groupings such as a common hierarchy or relevance.

6 illustrates an exemplary screen display 440 in a preview mode depicting a viewed process section 442 including previewed process sections 446a-446d presenting raw data from the process plant 10 and a window 444 overlaying the viewed process section 442. In this embodiment, the previewed process sections 446a-446d are presented as "breadcrumb" previews within a navigation bar 448. In particular, the navigation bar 448 depicts a navigation trail of the hierarchical structure of the process plant. For example, as seen in FIG. 6, the viewed process section 442 is for "First Stage Reactor." The navigation bar 448 indicates that the navigation trail "breadcrumbs" include "First Stage" and "Plant Overview," each of which represents a process section of a higher hierarchy in the structure of the process plant 10. In response to receiving a type of user input on the breadcrumbs 450 of the navigation bar 448, such as a hover, double tap, double click of the mouse, tap and hold, click and hold, etc., the UI device 112 may present other process sections in a preview mode. For example, in response to placing a cursor over the "Plant Overview" breadcrumb 450, the UI device 112 presents lower level previews 446a-446d of all process sections within the hierarchical structure of the plant 10, including a preview of the "First Stage" process section 446a. Thus, the user may proceed to another process section that is not necessarily adjacent to the viewed process section 442, but is within the hierarchical structure of the navigation trail that led to the viewed process section 442. In some embodiments, the UI device 112, or more specifically the control unit 44, selects an empty portion of the screen display 440 to place the window 444, such that the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. on the viewed process section 442 are not obscured. In another embodiment, the UI device 112 and control unit 44 may present a window 444 below the selected navigation "breadcrumb" and overlay the portion of the process section 442 that was viewed.

For example, the control unit 44 may determine the size of the region of the window 444. The control unit 44 may then position the region on the screen display 440 in proximity to the selected navigation "breadcrumb." If the preview process sections 446a-446d are too many for the window 444, the control unit 44 may shrink the preview process sections 446a-446d until there is enough free space in the window 444 to place them all. In another example, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. for the previewed process sections 446a-446b may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. In yet another example, the previewed process section 446a having an alert or alarm may be highlighted compared to other search results, such as by having a different animation, color, brightness, etc. than the other search results to draw attention to it.

In any event, the control unit 44 may present the previewed process sections 446a-446d in the window 444. In some embodiments, a portion of the previewed process sections 446a-446d may be displayed to fit within the window 444. In other embodiments, the previewed process sections 446a-446d may be reduced in size to fit within the window 444.

In yet another embodiment, the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. of the previewed process sections 446a-446d may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. Process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold may not be reduced, while other process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may be reduced. In another example, only process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. that are ranked above a ranking threshold and/or priority level may be included in the window 444. The ranking threshold and/or priority level may be determined as a function of the size of the window 444. As the size of the window 444 increases, more process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. may fit within the window 444, and as a result, the ranking threshold and/or priority level may be lowered.

Screen display 440 includes one window 444 displaying previewed process sections 446a-446d for one navigational "breadcrumb," but this is merely for ease of illustration. Any number of windows 444 may display any number of previewed process sections. For example, screen display 440 may include a window displaying a preview of a hierarchical process section upstream of viewed process section 442.

7 illustrates an exemplary screen display 460 in a preview mode depicting a viewed process section 462 and a window 464 overlaying the viewed process section 462, presenting raw data from the process plant 10. An off-sheet connector 466 includes an indication of a connection to another process section H2 PROD. In some embodiments, the off-sheet connector 466 may receive user input from an operator based on the user input, and the UI device 112 may display the H2 PROD process section in a full view mode or in a preview mode. For example, if a user input such as a double tap, double click mouse, tap and hold, click and hold, etc. is received at the off-sheet connector 466, the UI device 112 may display the H2 PROD process section in a full view mode, as described in more detail above with reference to FIGS. 2A-2D. If an alternative user input, such as a tap, single click, slide, click and drag, mouse hover, etc., is received on the off-sheet connector 466, the UI device 112 may display the status of the H2 PROD process section in preview mode.

In some embodiments, the UI device 112, and more specifically the control unit 44, selects an open portion of the screen display 460 in which to place the window 464, so that the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. on the viewed process section 462 are not obscured. In another embodiment, the UI device 112 and the control unit 44 may present the window 464 in the vicinity of the selected off-sheet connector 466.

In this example, the process section preview 468, alarms 470, alerts 472, etc. of the previewed process section status 464 may be prioritized in a manner similar to that described above. In yet another example, the previewed process section status 464 having an alert 472 or alarm 470 may be highlighted compared to other search results, such as by having a different animation, color, brightness, etc. than the other search results to draw attention to it. The number of alerts, alarms, etc. may also be indicated.

In any event, the control unit 44 may present the previewed process section status in the window 464. In some embodiments, a portion of the previewed process section status, such as the process section preview 468, alarms 470, alerts 472, etc., may be displayed to fit within the window 464. In other embodiments, the previewed process section status may be reduced to fit within the window 464.

Screen display 460 includes one window 464 displaying previewed process section status 468-472 for one off-sheet connector 466, but this is merely for ease of illustration. Any number of windows 464 may display any number of previewed process section statuses or previewed process sections.

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram depicting an example method 500 for previewing a process section in a process plant. The method 500 may be executed on the UI device 112. In some embodiments, the method 500 may be implemented in a set of instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable memory and executable by one or more processors of the UI device 112. For example, the method 500 may be performed by the control unit 44 shown in FIG. 1B.

In block 502, the UI device 112 may present (i.e., display or render) a process section depicting several process plant entities on a process plant display, such as the screen display 200 shown in FIG. 2A. The process section may include graphical representations of the process plant entities, connections between the process plant entities, process parameter values, and alarms. In some embodiments, the process parameter values may represent raw data of actual measurements and set points within an online process plant.

In addition, the UI device 112 may provide a user control to select another process section for viewing in a preview mode or full view mode (block 504), such as the off-sheet connector 204 shown in FIG. 2A. The user control may include an indication to connect to another process section, such as a “tower head.” In response to receiving one type of user input, such as a double tap, a double click of the mouse, a tap and hold, a click and hold, etc., on the user control, the UI device 112 may present the other process section in full view mode. In response to receiving another type of user input, such as a tap, a single click, a slide, a click and drag, a mouse hover, etc., on the user control, the UI device 112 may present the other process section in preview mode.

In block 506, the UI device 112 may receive user input (tap, single click, slide, click-and-drag, mouse hover, etc.) indicating a request to display another process section in a preview mode. Thus, the UI device 112 may present (render) the process section ("displayed process section") and the other process section ("previewed process section") in a preview mode on a process plant display (block 508), such as screen display 260 shown in FIG. 2B. The process sections may be presented side-by-side, with intersections between the process sections, such as intersection 284 shown in FIG. 2B. In other embodiments, the process sections or the process section status may be displayed in separate windows. For example, the previewed process section or the previewed process section status may be displayed in a window that overlays the viewed process section, such as screen display 300 shown in FIG. 3, screen display ### shown in FIG. 6, etc., or screen display ### shown in FIG. 7, etc. In some embodiments, the window containing the previewed process section or the previewed process section status may be smaller than the window containing the viewed process section. Additionally, the window containing the previewed process section or the previewed process section status can be positioned so as not to obscure the process plant entities, process parameters, alarms, off-sheet connectors, etc. on the viewed process section.

In an additional embodiment, at block 506, user input indicating a request to view another process section in a preview mode may be received in the form of a search request. For example, a user may search for another process section, and the resulting list of search results may each include a preview of the process section in the search result. Thus, the UI device 112 may present (render) one or more process section(s) (the "viewed process section") and other process section(s) (the "previewed process section") in a preview mode on a process plant display (block 508), such as screen display 420 shown in FIG. 5.

Optionally (e.g., in some embodiments), each of the process sections may be assigned a priority level (block 510). For example, the previewed process section may be assigned a higher priority level than the viewed process section, as in the screen display shown in FIG. 6, the viewed process section may be assigned a higher priority level than the previewed process section, an operator may select one of the process sections to be assigned the higher priority level, or priority levels may be assigned by any other suitable manner. In yet another example, a summary of alerts, alarms, etc. may be displayed as a status of the previewed process section, as in the screen display shown in FIG. 7. In either case, the process parameter values may be adjustable for the process section assigned the higher priority level, while the process parameter values may be non-adjustable for the other process section. In other embodiments, the process parameter values may not be adjustable for either process section in preview mode, or may be adjustable for both process sections in preview mode.

Optionally (e.g., in embodiments in which process parameter values are adjustable), in block 512, the UI device 112 may receive user input indicating a request to adjust a process parameter value of a process section that is adjustable in the preview mode. For example, an operator may perform various touch gestures or mouse clicks on a graphical representation of a process plant entity in a process section to adjust the process parameter value of the process plant entity. More specifically, the operator may perform a drag gesture and a click-and-drag to adjust a tank level value of a tank or a temperature setting of a heat exchanger, may perform a rotate gesture to adjust the speed of a pump, may perform a pinch-and-spread gesture to adjust a valve open percentage of a valve, may type a new or adjusted process parameter value, etc.

In response to receiving the user input, the UI device 112, and more specifically the control unit 44, may adjust the process parameter value during online operation of the process plant (block 514). For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the control unit 14 may provide instructions to the controller 11 to adjust the process parameter value in the process plant. In another example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the control unit 44 may communicate the adjusted process parameter value to the server 150, which may provide instructions to the controller 11 to adjust the process parameter value in the process plant. The controller 11 may then communicate with the field devices 15-22, 40-46, as shown in FIG. 1A, to adjust the process parameter value in the process plant.

At block 516, the UI device 112 may receive user input indicating a request to exit the preview mode and display the viewed or previewed process section in full view mode. For example, an operator may select one of the process sections to display in full view mode by tapping, clicking, double-tapping, double-clicking, etc., on a portion of the process plant display that corresponds to the desired process section to be displayed in full view mode. For example, when the operator wishes to display the previewed process section in full view mode, the operator may double-tap or double-click on the portion of the process plant display that includes the previewed process section.

Next, in block 518, the selected process section may be displayed on the process plant display in a full view mode, such as screen display 290 as shown in FIG. 2D, to exit the preview mode. The full view mode may include the entire process section on the process plant display, rather than a portion or reduced version of the process section, as in the preview mode described above.

Embodiments of the technology described in this disclosure may include any number of the following aspects, either alone or in combination:

1. A method for viewing a process section within a process plant while simultaneously viewing another, previous process section, the method comprising: presenting, by one or more processors of a process plant display, a process section depicting a portion of the process plant including a graphical representation of a plurality of process plant entities within the process plant; providing, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, a navigation tool for navigating to another portion of the process plant; receiving, via the one or more processors, an instruction to navigate to another portion of the process plant via the navigation tool; and presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, at least a portion of the process section while simultaneously presenting previews of one or more other process sections in response to the instruction to navigate to the other portion of the process plant.

2. The method of aspect 1, wherein the navigation tool includes a navigation bar that plots a hierarchical navigation trail of portions of the process plant relative to the structure of the process control plant.

3. The method of any one of aspects 1 and 2, wherein the instructions to navigate to another portion of the process plant include instructions to navigate to a different hierarchical level of the navigation trail, and presenting a preview of one or more other process sections in response to the instructions to navigate includes presenting, by one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of the one or more other process sections at a different hierarchical level.

4. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the instructions to navigate include a geometric intersection of the selection tool with the navigation tool.

5. The method of any one of aspects 1-4, wherein the instructions to navigate include positioning the selection tool over the navigation tool drawing for a threshold amount of time.

6. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the instructions to navigate include selecting a navigation tool with a selection tool.

7. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the navigation tool includes a list of one or more items, each item corresponding to a different portion of the process plant, and each item includes a preview of the corresponding other portion of the process plant.

8. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the navigation tool includes a search tool that, in response to instructions to navigate, returns result items, each result item corresponding to a different portion of the process plant, and each result item includes a preview of the other portion of the process plant to which it corresponds.

9. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein presenting at least a portion of the process section includes presenting, by one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of one or more other process sections at a resolution lower than the resolution of the portion of the process section.

10. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein presenting at least a portion of the process section includes presenting, by one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of the alert in at least one of the one or more other process sections.

11. The method of any one of aspects 1-10, further comprising, when presenting a preview of the one or more other process sections on the process plant display, receiving an input from a user via a navigation tool at the one or more processors requesting a full view of one of the one or more other process sections, and presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, the full view of the requested other process section, including not presenting the process section.

12. A user interface device for viewing a process section within a process plant while simultaneously viewing another previous process section, the user interface device comprising: a display screen; one or more processors coupled to the display screen; and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions coupled to the one or more processors and that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the user interface device to present, via the display screen, a process section depicting a portion of the process plant including a graphical representation of a plurality of process plant entities within the process plant, provide a navigation tool for navigating to another portion of the process plant, receive, via the navigation tool, an instruction to navigate to another portion of the process plant, and, in response to the instruction to navigate to another portion of the process plant, present, via the display screen, at least a portion of the process section while simultaneously presenting a preview of one or more other process sections.

13. The user interface device of aspect 12, wherein the navigation tool includes a navigation bar that depicts a hierarchical navigation trail of portions of the process plant relative to the structure of the process control plant.

14. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 or 13, wherein the instructions to navigate to another portion of the process plant include instructions to navigate to a different hierarchical level of the navigation trail, and the instructions further cause the user interface device to present a preview of one or more other process sections in response to the instructions to navigate, and the instructions further cause the user interface device to present, via the display screen, a preview of the one or more other process sections at the different levels of the hierarchy.

15. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 to 14, wherein the instructions to navigate include a geometric intersection of the selection tool with the navigation tool.

16. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12-15, wherein the instructions to navigate include positioning the selection tool over the graphical representation of the navigation tool for a threshold amount of time.

17. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 to 16, wherein the instructions to navigate include selecting a navigation tool with a selection tool.

18. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 to 17, wherein the navigation tool includes a list of one or more items, each item corresponding to a different portion of the process plant, and each item includes a preview of the other portion of the process plant to which it corresponds.

19. The method of any one of aspects 12-18, wherein the navigation tool includes a search tool that, in response to an instruction to navigate, returns result items, each result item corresponding to a different portion of the process plant, and each result item includes a preview of the other portion of the process plant to which it corresponds.

20. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12-19, wherein the instructions further cause the user interface device to present, via the display screen, previews of one or more other process sections at a resolution lower than the resolution of the portion of the process section.

21. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 to 20, wherein the instructions further cause the user interface device to present, via the display screen, a preview of the alert in at least one of the one or more other process sections.

22. The user interface device of any one of aspects 12 to 21, wherein the instructions further cause the user interface device to receive an input from a user requesting a full view of one of the one or more other process sections when presenting a preview of the one or more other process sections via the display screen, and present, via the display screen, a full view of the requested other process section, including not presenting the process section.

Additionally, the foregoing aspects of the disclosure are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

The following additional considerations apply to the above discussion. Throughout this specification, operations described as being performed by any device or routine generally refer to the operation or process of a processor that manipulates or transforms data in accordance with machine-readable instructions. The machine-readable instructions may be stored on and retrieved from a memory device communicatively coupled to the processor. In other words, the methods described herein may be embodied by a series of machine-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium (i.e., on a memory device), as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a corresponding device (e.g., a server, a user interface device, etc.), cause the processor to perform the method. When instructions, routines, modules, processes, services, programs, and/or applications are referred to herein as being stored or saved on a computer-readable memory or on a computer-readable medium, the terms "stored" and "saved" are intended to exclude transitory signals.

Additionally, the terms "operator," "personnel," "person," "user," "technician," and other similar terms are used to describe persons within a process plant environment who may use or interact with the systems, apparatus, and methods described herein, but these terms are not intended to be limiting. Where particular terms are used in the description, the terms are used in part due to traditional activities engaged in by plant employees, but are not intended to limit the employees who may engage in the particular activities.

In addition, throughout this specification, multiple instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods have been illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed simultaneously, and the operations need not be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functions presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as combined structures or components. Similarly, structures and functions presented as single components may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are within the scope of the subject matter of this specification.

Unless otherwise specified, terms such as "processing,""computing,""calculating,""determining,""identifying,""identifying,""identifying,"identifying" and "identifying" are used interchangeably.
Discussions herein using words such as "detecting,""presenting,""causing to be presented,""causing to be displayed,""displaying," and the like, may refer to machine (e.g., computer) operations or processes that manipulate or transform data represented as physical (e.g., electrical, magnetic, biological, or optical) quantities in one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that receive, store, transmit, or display information.

When implemented in software, any of the applications, services, and engines described herein may be stored in any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable memory, such as a magnetic disk, laser disk, solid-state memory device, molecular memory storage device, or other storage medium, such as in the RAM or ROM of a computer or processor. It should be noted that while the exemplary systems disclosed herein are disclosed to include software and/or firmware running on hardware, among other components, such systems are merely exemplary and should not be considered limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of these hardware, software, and firmware components may be embedded solely in hardware, solely in software, or in any combination of hardware and software. Thus, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the examples provided are not the only ways to implement such systems.

Thus, while the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that these examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be limitations of the present invention, and that modifications, additions, or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Certain terms are defined in this patent as "As used here, the term '_____' is hereby
It should be understood that unless expressly defined using the phrase "defined to mean..." or a similar phrase, no attempt is made to explicitly or implicitly limit the meaning of the term beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such terms should not be construed as limited in scope based on any statements made in any section of this patent (except the claim language). To the extent that any term recited in a claim at the end of this patent is referred to within this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, it is done merely for clarity so as not to confuse the reader, and is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word "means" and a function, without any recitation of structure, the scope of any claim element is not intended to be construed under application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) and/or former 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.

Furthermore, while the above text describes detailed descriptions of many different embodiments, it should be understood that the scope of this patent is defined by the language of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description should be construed as merely exemplary and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Many alternative embodiments could be implemented using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

Claims (15)

1. A method for viewing a process section within a process plant while simultaneously viewing a preview of another process section, the method comprising:
presenting, by one or more processors of a process plant display, a first process section depicting a first portion of the process plant including a graphical representation of a plurality of process plant entities within the process plant;
providing, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, a navigation tool for navigating to a second portion of the process plant;
receiving user input via the navigation tool at the one or more processors representing instructions to navigate to the second portion of the process plant;
presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, at least the first portion of the first process section in response to the instruction to navigate to the second portion of the process plant, while simultaneously presenting a preview of a second process section depicting one or more portions including the second portion, wherein at least one process parameter within the preview of the one or more portions of the second process section is adjustable via the preview of the one or more portions of the second process section while simultaneously presenting a preview of the one or more portions of the second process section with at least the first portion of the first process section. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation tool includes a navigation bar that plots a hierarchical navigation trail of the portion of the process plant relative to a structure of the process plant. The method of claim 2, wherein the instructions to navigate to the second portion of the process plant include instructions to navigate to a different hierarchical level of the navigation trail, and presenting a preview of the one or more portions of the second process section in response to the instructions to navigate includes presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of the one or more portions of the second process section at the different hierarchical levels. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions to navigate include a graphical intersection of an off-sheet connector of the navigation tool with a selection tool, the selection tool being a graphical representation of a mouse hover. The method of claim 4, wherein the instructions to navigate include positioning the selection tool over the navigation tool drawing for a threshold amount of time. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the instructions to navigate include selection of the off-sheet connector. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation tool includes a list of one or more items, each item corresponding to the second portion of the process plant, and each item includes a preview of the corresponding second portion of the process plant. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation tool includes a search tool that, in response to the instruction to navigate, returns result items, each result item corresponding to the second portion of the process plant, and each result item includes a preview of the corresponding second portion of the process plant. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein presenting at least the first portion of the first process section includes presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of the one or more portions of the second process section at a resolution lower than a resolution of the first portion of the first process section. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein presenting at least the first portion of the first process section includes presenting, by the one or more processors of the process plant display, a preview of an alert in at least one of the one or more portions of the second process section. 1. A user interface device for viewing a process section within a process plant while simultaneously viewing a preview of another process section, the user interface device comprising:
A display screen;
one or more processors coupled to the display screen;
coupled to the one or more processors and, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the user interface device to
presenting via the display screen a first process section depicting a first portion of a process plant including a graphical representation of a plurality of process plant entities within the process plant;
providing a navigation tool for navigating to a second portion of the process plant;
receiving user input via the navigation tool representing instructions to navigate to the second portion of the process plant;
causing at least the first portion of the first process section to be presented via the display screen while simultaneously presenting a preview of a second process section depicting one or more portions including the second portion in response to the instruction to navigate to the second portion of the process plant, and at least one process parameter within the preview of the one or more portions of the second process section being adjustable via the preview of the one or more portions of the second process section while simultaneously presenting a preview of the one or more portions of the second process section with at least the first portion of the first process section.
A user interface device comprising: a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions. The user interface device of claim 11, wherein the navigation tool includes a navigation bar that depicts a hierarchical navigation trail of the portion of the process plant relative to a structure of the process plant. The user interface device of claim 12, wherein the instructions to navigate include a graphical intersection of an off-sheet connector of the navigation tool with a selection tool, the selection tool being a graphical representation of a mouse hover. The user interface device of claim 13, wherein the instructions to navigate include positioning the selection tool over a graphical representation of the navigation tool for a threshold amount of time. The user interface device of claim 13 or 14, wherein the instructions to navigate include selecting the off-sheet connector.

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