US 4,749,985 AGranted

Functional relationship-based alarm processing

AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy

InventorDaniel R. Corsberg

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A functional relationship-based alarm processing system and method analyzes each alarm as it is activated and determines its relative importance with other currently activated alarms and signals in accordance with the relationships that the newly activated alarm has with other currently activated alarms. Once the initial level of importance of the alarm has been determined, that alarm is again evaluated if another related alarm is activated. Thus, each alarm's importance is continuously oupdated as the state of the process changes during a scenario. Four hierarchical relationships are defined by this alarm filtering methodology: (1) level precursor (usually occurs when there are two alarm settings on the same parameter); (2) direct precursor (based on caussal factors between two alarms); (3) required action (system response or action) expected within a specified time following activation of an alarm or combination of alarms and process signals); and (4) blocking condition (alarms that are normally expected and are not considered important). The alarm processing system and method is sensitive to the dynamic nature of the process being monitored and is capable of changing the relative importance of each alarm as necessary.

Claims25

Dependent claims

In the monitoring of a process, a method for classifying a plurality of process alarms A and B each representing a respective operating state of said process as of primary importance or of secondary importance based upon functional relationships among said alarms, said method comprising the steps of:

defining each of the alarms A and B in terms of one of the following relationship categories:
alarm A is a level precursor of alarm B such that alarm A should occur before alarm B;
alarm A is a direct precursor of alarm B such that alarm A should occur before alarm B and alarm A's occurrence can cause alarm B's occurrence;
alarm A is a priority required action of alarm B such that occurrence of alarm B should cause the activation of alarm A;
or
alarm A is a blocking condition for alarm B such that, with both alarms A and B activated, alarm B will not be processed until alarm A is no longer activated, or clears;
and
assigning primary importance to an activated alarm and secondary importance to that alarm which is not activated when one of the alarms is activated and the other alarm is not activated, and, where both alarm A and alarm B are activated, assigning primary importance to alarm B and secondary importance to alarm A where alarm A is a level precursor of alarm B or assigning primary importance to alarm A and secondary importance to alarm B for the remaining relationship categories between alarms A and B.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.