US 7,680,546 B2 · Graphic element with multiple visualizations in a process environment

Abstract

Smart graphic elements are provided for use as portions or components of one or more graphic displays, which may be executed in a process plant to display information to users about the process plant environment, such as the current state of devices within the process plant. Each of the graphic elements is an executable object that includes a property or a variable that may be bound to an associated process entity, like a field device, and that includes multiple visualizations, each of which may be used to graphically depict the associated process entity on a user interface when the graphic element is executed as part of the graphic display. Any of the graphic element visualizations may be used in any particular graphic display and the same graphic display may use different ones of the visualizations at different times. The different visualizations associated with a graphic element make the graphic element more versatile, at they allow the same graphic element to be used in different displays using different graphical styles or norms. These visualizations also enable the same graphic element to be used in displays designed for different types of display devices, such as display devices having large display screens, standard computer screens and very small display screens, such as PDA and telephone display screens.

Claims30

Dependent claims

A graphical support layer system to support graphic display and data structure needs of functional areas of a process plan by presenting a visual depiction of a plurality of physical or logical process elements associated with the process plant to a user via a display device, the graphical support layer system comprising:

a computer readable memory;
and
a plurality of display objects corresponding to the process elements, stored on the computer readable memory, and executable by a processor, each display object including:
any number of properties or parameters associated with the process element;
and
a multiplicity of graphic visualizations of the process element, wherein one of the multiplicity of graphic visualizations is displayed on the display device as a graphic representation of the process element when the display object is executed by a processor;
a graphic display stored on the computer readable memory, the graphic display corresponding to a depiction of an interaction of the plurality of process elements and adapted to be executed on a processor, the graphic display including:
references or copies of the plurality of display objects;
and
indications of which of the graphic visualizations to display on the display device during execution of the graphic display;
wherein the system enables display of selected graphic visualizations of the plurality of display objects when displaying the graphic display;
the graphic visualizations enabling the same display object to be used in displays designed for different types of display devices or in displays designed using different graphical styles.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Graphic element with multiple visualizations in a process environment

Life of this patent

Graphic element with multiple visualizations in a process environment

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims30