CLIAMS:l. A panel for indicating operating condition of a plant, the panel comprising:
a housing including a first member and a second member, the second member mounted within the housing in juxtaposed relation to the first member, the first member having a plurality of opening regions including a transparent mimic film region for accommodating mimic alarm film of the plant, and the second member including a plurality of key area provided on the front face of the second member,
a flat key structure positioned between the first member and the second member such that the flat key structure enacted over the transparent mimic film region of the first member, wherein the flat key structure illuminates the corresponding operating condition of various parts/components of the plant on the transparent mimic film region using multicolour elements.

2. The panel of claim 1, wherein the plantoperating condition is indicated on the mimic film based on the predefined parameters by changing the colour or blink during abnormal operation condition of the plant, wherein under the under normal functioning condition the flat key structure indicates by turning on a first colourindication of the multi-colour elements, and wherein under warning condition of the plant, the key structure indicates by turning on a second colour.
3. The panel of claim 1, wherein the multicolour elements is bi-colour LED, wherein under the under normal functioning condition the flat key structure indicates by turning on the GREEN indication, and wherein under warning condition of the plant, the key structure indicates by turning on the RED and GREEN LEDs.

3. The panel of claim 2, wherein under the alarm condition, the flat key structure indicates by flashing RED indication, and upon key recognition the flashing stops and steady RED indication will be lit till the time alarm is presentthereby provide unique light signalling in the event of malfunctioning of the plant.

4. The panel of claim 1, wherein the first member further includes a plurality of keyboards and a display, wherein the keyboards are of push-button switches for various functions and operations of the panel and the display to monitor the plurality of corresponding conditions.

5. The panel of claim 1, wherein the mimic alarm film is a polycarbonate film or polyester film.

6. The panel of claim 1, wherein the first member is covered with polycarbonate film or polyester film which act as a cover for the display, keyboards and the mimic alarm film, wherein the mimic alarm film is placed between the polycarbonate film or polyester film and the first member above the keyboard area.

7. The panel of claim 1, wherein the mimic alarm film shows the status of the machine sequence, process condition and also display error condition via different colour illumination in the plant.

8. The panel of claim 1, further including a slot below the transparent mimic film region, where the mimic film or alarm film is inserted and positioned over the transparent mimic film region. ,TagSPECI:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

A PANEL HAVING MIMIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR INDICATING OPERATING CONDITION OF A PLANT;
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION, A CORPORATION ORGANISED AND EXISTING UNDER THE LAWS OF JAPAN, WHOSE ADDRESS IS 7-3 MARUNOUCHI 2 CHOME, CHIYODA- KU, TOKYO, JAPAN

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

A PANEL HAVING MIMIC FUNCTIONALITY FOR INDICATING OPERATING CONDITION OF A PLANT
Field of the invention
The invention relates generally to process/plant status indicating systems and more particularly forming an imitator panel configured for MIMIC functionality including alarm annunciation functionality which shows the various status sequence of the machine, process etc.
Background of the invention
Day to day operations in most industrial facilities are typically uneventful. However, it is better to know the plant/process status at a glance and in case of certain unscheduled events requiring the immediate attention of operational personnel. Thus, most process parameter monitoring systems are designed to include some type of warning system to alert operational personnel to an impending, or current, event requiring their attention. More specifically, these systems typically sound an audible alarm and/or show a visual alarm to alert operational personnel that a process parameter has exceeded a specified limit. Some unscheduled events may result in numerous alarms being sounded.
Generally in industrial plant, the control system monitors and controls the variety of intelligent electronic devices and process conditions of an electrical distribution system. These control systems, generally, include an annunciator panel or board provided at a console of the operator or user. The Annunciator panel is well known in the art which is a system to alert operators of alarm conditions in the industrial plant. The annunciator panel includes an array of buttons provided to know the status information of selected devices or process condition of the distribution system. Each button is indicative of the status of a corresponding device of the distribution system. Further, the Lamps/buttons in each window are controlled by hard-wired switches in the plant, arranged to operate when a process condition or any selected devices enters an abnormal state (such as high temperature, low pressure, loss of cooling water flow, or many others, etc.).
If abnormal state happens, the buttons/lamps in the window of the corresponding device illuminate with a different colour, where the change in colour is representative of the status of the device. For example, a green button may represent that the corresponding device or process condition is operating properly, and a red light may indicate that a fault condition exists. The panel provides an easy method of monitoring the condition or status of the electrical system or process condition in industry. If fault occurs that requires acknowledgement by the operator of the system before resetting the fault, the operator may attempt to reset the failure by depressing the button to acknowledge the fault.
In one common alarm sequence, the light/button in a window will flash and a bell or horn will sound to attract the operator's attention when the alarm condition is detected. The operator can silence the alarm with a button, and the window will remain lit as long as the process is in the alarm state. When the alarm clears (process condition returns to normal), the lamps in the window go out.
Moreover, the present annunciator panels has certain limitation were the status of the machine or process is indicated with text messages in any predefined format that are awkwardly viewed and understood from longer distance, such as central control room. Thus the low skill workers face hard to understand the information displayed in the panels. Also, the present annunciator panels are relatively costly due to requirement of large number of input and output points of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC).
Therefore there is a need in the art with enhanced process/plant status indicator along with alarm annunciator with graphical element to visualize process/ plant at a glance to address the above mentioned limitations.
Summary of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention relates to a panel for indicating operating condition of a plant, the panel comprising: a housing including a first member and a second member, the second member mounted within the housing in juxtaposed relation to the first member, the first member having a plurality of opening regions including a transparent mimic film region for accommodating mimic alarm film of the plant, and the second member including a plurality of key area provided on the front face of the second member, a flat key structure positioned between the first member and the second member such that the flat key structure enacted over the transparent mimic film region of the first member, wherein the flat key structure illuminates the corresponding operating condition of various parts/components of the plant on the transparent mimic film region using bi-colour LEDs.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Brief description of the drawings
For a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mimic leaf in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a panel including the mimic leaf of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows exploded view of the panel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Detail description of the Invention
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated.
The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that such matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the invention.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mimic leaf 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, an illustrative embodiment of plant, which displays the system mimic (labelled as ‘A’), is shown. This screen displays a mimic of a plant (selected by the operator) in a simplified form. MIMIC is the exact or approximate representation of any process plant for which the control panel and desk is going to be used. These representations make it easy to control and viewing the whole plant from one place only. The mimic helps in identification of exact location of faults at working on the moment it occurs and is easy for maintenance. Mimics suitably consist of components such as piping, valves, pumps, heat exchangers, tanks, et cetera. Graphical components of a mimic are suitably drawn in diagrammatic form and extraneous information removed to increase salience of mission critical components. According to the present invention, the mimic has a plurality of cells in a grid pattern, where each cell corresponds to one or more part/component of the plant. Mimic Panels has the application in various process plants like including but not limited to Ash Handling, Cement plants, Railways, Petro-chemicals, Utilities, Iron and Steel, Distribution SCADA, Power Generation etc.
FIG. 2 shows a panel 200 including the mimic leaf of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is the illustrative embodiment of panel (labelled as ‘H’) incorporating mimic panel (A), where the panel broadly includes a transparent mimic region incorporating the detachable mimic leaf, a plurality of cells and a display. The detachable transparent mimic leaf may be enacted in the panel and the mimic leaf has the functionality representation of any process plant for which the control panel and desk is going to be used. These representations make it easy to control and viewing the whole plant from one place only. Particularly, the mimic panel has the functionality of revolving light and colour illumination which has the technical characteristics of being more visual and appropriate in display of the running status of equipment, capable of reflecting various specific practical situations, flexible in operation mode, and convenient to update, thereby being suitable for various scheduling mimic panels to display the work condition of equipment. The detachable mimic leaf can be modified according to the user or plant requirements. The detachable mimic leaf in conjunction with the panel accepts the acknowledgement from the operator in case of error/alarm condition.
FIG. 3 shows exploded view of the panel in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The exploded view shows the constructional details and key placement of the panel, where the panel (same as ‘H’ in figure 2) having a housing (not defined in figure) including a first member 310 and a second member 320, the second member 320 mounted within the housing 300 in juxtaposed relation to the first member 310, the first member 310 having a plurality of opening regions (302, 304, 306) including a transparent mimic film region 306 for accommodating mimic alarm film (not shown in figure) of the plant. The panel further having a slot 308 below the transparent mimic film region, where the mimic film or alarm film is inserted and positioned over the transparent mimic film region. The mimic alarm film is a polycarbonate film or polyester film which shows the layout of the machine sequence, process condition and also displays operating condition via different colour illumination in the plant. The opening region of the first member 310 are keyboards 302 and the display 304, where the keyboards are of push-button switches for various functions and operations of the panel and the display to monitor the plurality of corresponding conditions. The first member 310 is covered with polycarbonate film or polyester film which act as a cover for the display 304, keyboards 302 and the mimic alarm film region 306 including the mimic film, wherein the mimic alarm film is placed between the polycarbonate film or polyester film and the first member above the keyboard area. The second member 320 including a plurality of key area 315 provided on the front face of the second member 320. A flat key structure 330 positioned between the first member 310 and the second member 320 such that the flat key structure 330 enacted over the transparent mimic film region 306 of the first member 310. The flat key structure 330 has key plates as shown in figure. In this embodiment of the present invention, the flat key plates are preferably made of transparent material that advantageously allow various light illuminations to pass the flat key plates.The flat key structure 330 is capable of illuminating based on the corresponding operating condition of various parts/components of the plant on the transparent mimic film region 306 using bi-colour LEDs.
In an example operation of the panel, the plantoperating condition is indicated on the mimic alarm film based on the predefined parameters by changing the colour or blink during abnormal operation condition of the plant. Firstly, under normal functioning condition the flat key structure 330 indicates by turning on the GREEN indication, and secondly, under the warning condition of the plant, the key structure 330 indicates by turning on the RED and GREEN LEDs. Thirdly, in the case of alarm condition, the flat key structure 330 indicates by flashing RED indication, and upon key recognition the flashing stops and steady RED indication will be lit till the time alarm is presentthereby provide unique light signalling in the event of malfunctioning of the plant.It is to be noted that by using the grid structure of the bi-color LEDs and keys combiningly other conditions such as level of the liquid in the container can also be indicated in accordance with the present invention.
The invention may also be embodied in a multiple indicating device known as an annunciator for use on an HMI operation panel to indicate the condition or operating state of various components in the machine. For example, the flat key structure is constructed with multicolour light emitting elements. With these elements, under normal functioning condition the flat key structure 330 indicates by turning on one colour indication, and secondly, under the warning condition of the plant, the key structure 330 indicates by turning on the other colour indication.
These novel displays while the machine is in use provides immediate feedback to the user of the current state of the machine, greatly facilitates its use and re-configuration when desired, as well as providing warnings of malfunctions or replenishment of supplies. It avoids the need for the user to remember choices required to operate the machine, and will reduce runtime errors. It will be understood that, while the location of the controls below their respective display is preferred, other arrangements which visually map the control to the relevant machine component or print item will also be suitable.
Consequently it is clear that the principal advantage of the instant invention is that information concerning the conditions of prime system components previously attainable only at the expense of high cost and small display area, is now available without the disadvantages of prior known display systems. Further, it reduces the input/output points of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) thereby reducing the complexity of the panel thus reducing the cost. By using this kind of panel having the mimic functionality allows the low skilled worker to understand the process of the plant. Furthermore, the panel having the mimic functionality facilitate the worker or user to learn and ease in understanding the concept of alarm acknowledge and operate the same, as the indication key are behind the mimic display. By using this kind of panel, one can reduce the number of products, as the panel has a unique combination but not limited to mimic, alarm and acknowledge functionality.
Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, other changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended that the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.