Title of Invention

" A METHOD AND AN AUTOMATION SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND/OR CONTROLLING A TECHNICAL ISTALLATION"

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation using an automation system which controls and/or monitors the technical installation, in which at least one image capture device generates image data from the at least one installation component; the captured image data are transferred to a server data processing device and are stored there; the stored image data are transmitted to a client data processing device having a display device; the client data processing device displays a schematic representation, with individual installation components having respective associated component representations in the displayed schematic representation, and with the respective component representations having selectable links, and in that selection of a link is followed by the image data from that installation component which is associated with the relevant component representation being transferred to the client data processing device.

Full Text

Description Method and automation system for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation Today, technical installations are normally monitored and/or controlled using what are known as automation systems. By way of example, a technical installation may be an installation for carrying out a process-engineering process or an industrial production process or else may be an installation for generating or distributing electrical power. Such technical installations usually have various installation components whose correct interaction ensures that the technical installation operates in the desired fashion. To be able to control and/or monitor the technical installation, automation systems are provided which use sensors to capture the state of the individual components in a technical installation and usually transfer it to a superordinate control center. From there, regulatory and control action can be taken on the technical installation by sending commands to actuators in the automation system, which then act directly on the technical installation. It is known practice for the sensors used in the automation system also to be image capture equipment. Thus, by way of example, German laid-open specification DE 44 02 779 A1 discloses an observation system with a video camera in which image data recorded by means of a video camera are digitized and are transferred to a particular, previously stipulated control centre. In addition, US patent specification US 5,805,813 discloses a method for monitoring installation components in a technical installation in the form of a substation in a power distribution network, in which a camera is used to capture visual displays, for example, from measuring and monitoring equipment on an installation component. The image data captured in this manner are then evaluated by means of a computer system such that automatic image recognition is used to recognize the position of the respective measuring equipment and to compare it with appropriate prescribed threshold values. If a threshold value is exceeded then an alarm signal is generated and is transferred to a particular control room, for example. However, image recognition as used in the method described is relatively involved and can be achieved only with a high level of computer power. In addition, the operating personnel at the control centre has no way of checking the correctness of the results of the image recognition. The invention is based on the object of specifying a method and an automation system for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation in which image data from the installation components can be accessed comparatively flexibly. The invention achieves this object by means of a method for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation using an automation system which controls and/or monitors the technical installation, in which at least one image capture device generates image data from the at least one installation component, the captured image data are transferred to a server data processing device and are stored there, the stored image data are transmitted to a client data processing device, and the transmitted image data are displayed as an image by means of a display apparatus on the client data processing device. The fundamental advantage of the inventive solution is that a client data processing device can be used to access the captured image data from the installation component from almost any desired location. A fixed association with a control center to which the image data are transferred is no longer necessary. The reason for this is that the captured image data are first of all stored on a server data processing device, which is usually arranged in the vicinity of the image capture device, and are held there for retrieval by the client data processing device. The client data processing device may be connected to the server data processing device by means of an arbitrary communication link, but particularly by means of a communication network. By way of example, such a network may be either what is known as a "Local Area Network" (LAN) , a "Wide Area Network" (WAN) or else an intranet or the internet. This means that the server data processing device can be accessed from almost any site, that is to say flexibly. The data transfer can take place by wire or wirelessly, for example by radio or by infrared radiation. In one advantageous embodiment of the inventive method, the image data stored on the server data processing device are retrieved by virtue of the client data processing device sending an electronic request to the server data processing device, and the image data stored on the server data processing device are transferred to the client data processing device in response to the electronic request. In this way, the requisite image data are not transferred continuously but rather only upon retrieval by the client processing device. This allows the transferred volume of data and hence the loading of the communication link by the transfer of the image data to be kept relatively small, since the image data are transferred only upon special request by the client data processing device. In another advantageous embodiment of the inventive method, the image capture device captures the image data as frames at prescribed intervals of time. Such an image capture device may be a comparatively inexpensive digital camera, also called a "webcam". . The webcam delivers respective frames at settable intervals of time and transfers them, for example in JPEG format, to the server data processing device. Alternatively, the image capture device can also capture the image data as continuous images. In this way, continuous images can be captured particularly advantageously using a video camera, for example. In the case of this alternative, the volume of image data transferred to the server data processing device is naturally greater than in the case of frame capture. Furthermore, in another advantageous embodiment of the inventive method, the client data processing device displays a schematic representation of the technical installation, with individual installation components having respective associated component representations in the displayed schematic representation, and with the respective component representations having selectable links, and selection of a link is followed by the image data from that installation component which is associated with the relevant component representation being transferred to the client data processing device. In this way, when there are a plurality of installation components monitored by means of image capture devices, the volume of image data transferred from the server data processing device to the client data processing device can be reduced because only the image data associated with a selected installation component are transferred. It is therefore not necessary for the image data from all installation components to be constantly sent to the client data processing device, but rather only the image data from the selected installation component. In addition, in another advantageous embodiment of the inventive method, an alteration to a state of an installation component automatically prompts the image data associated with this installation component to be transferred to the client data processing device and to be displayed there as an image. In this way, when there is a fault in an installation component, for example, the relevant image data can be automatically transferred to the client data processing device for display. This allows the operating personnel on the client data processing device to be informed very quickly. In this connection, there may also be provision that, when a Request-Respond communication protocol, particularly the HTTP protocol, is used, an alteration to a state of an installation component prompts the image data associated with this installation component to be stored on the server data processing device first of all, and these stored data are automatically transferred to the client data processing device when image data are next retrieved by the client data processing device. Since what are known as "Request Respond" communication protocols allow data to be transferred from the server data processing device to the client data processing device only upon request by the client data processing device, in this case the generated image data are first of all buffer-stored on the server data processing device and are transferred to the client data processing device upon the next request. The client data processing device can retrieve image data from the server data processing device at prescribed regular or else irregular intervals of time, for example, so as always to have the most up-to-date stock of data possible. The aforementioned object is also achieved by an automation system for monitoring and/or controlling a technical installation, having an image capture device for generating image data from at least one installation component in the technical installation, where the automation system has a server data processing device on which the generated image data are stored, and a client data processing device which is used to retrieve the image data stored on the server data processing device for the purpose of display on the client data processing device. In such an automation system, the server-client architecture of the system allows the server data processing device to be accessed from almost any location. In one advantageous embodiment of the inventive automation system, the image capture device is designed for frame capture. Alternatively, provision may also be made for the image capture device to be designed for capturing continuous images. To explain the invention further, the drawing shows an exemplary embodiment of a method and of an automation system for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation, where Figure 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an automation system for monitoring installation components in a power distribution installation, and Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a screen display shown on a client data processing device in the automation system. Figure 1 schematically shows a technical installation in the form of a power distribution installation, for example for a switchpanel, of which only a transformer 1 is shown by way of representation in figure 1. Apart from the transformer 1 shown, said switchpanel may also contain circuit breakers, control and protection equipment, capacitors and other installation components, for example, which are not shown here for reasons of clarity, however. The switchpanel also has image capture devices, for example in the form of cameras, arranged on it, of which the image capture devices 2a to 2d are shown here by way of example. As is intended to be indicated by the dashed lines, the switchpanel may not hold just the four image capture devices shown, but rather any number thereof. The image capture device 2a is trained on the transformer 1, while the other image capture devices 2b to 2d may be trained on other installation components, not shown in the figure. The image capture devices 2a to 2d are connected to a server data processing device 4 by means of data lines 3. Instead of wired data lines 3, the image capture devices 2a to 2d can also communicate with the server data processing device 4 by means of wireless communication links. The server data processing device 4 is connected to a network 5, for example an intranet or the internet. The network 5 can be accessed using client data processing devices 6a and 6b, of which a laptop and a desktop PC are shown here by way of example. The client data processing devices 6a an 6b may be connected to the network by means of wired or wireless communication links. Apart from the client data processing devices 6a and 6b shown, other equipment, for example what are known as PDAs ("Personal Digital Assistants") or mobile telephones, which is accordingly set up as a client data processing device may also be used. In this case, it is also possible for the client data processing devices used to be parts of a central control room. The image capture devices 2a to 2d, the server data processing device 4, the network 5 and the client data processing devices 6a and 6b are parts of an automation system which, besides the parts shown in figure 1, may also have other components, such as further sensors and measuring equipment, control and protection equipment and also actuators for performing control and regulation actions in the switchpanel. The automation system can, in principle, be used to take control and monitoring action on the technical installation; the visual monitoring of the installation components using the image capture devices 2a to 2d is just one subfunction of the automation system. Normally, such an automation system will be controlled by means of a special piece of automation software. The text below will describe the method for monitoring the installation components of the switchpanel, which is carried out using the parts of the automation system which are shown in Figure 1. The image capture device 2a records an image of the transformer 1 and transfers it in the form of image data to the server data processing device 4 by means of the data line 3. The server data processing device 4 stores these image data. If required, the image data can also be stored on the server data processing device 4 in compressed form in order to save storage space on the server data processing device. This can be done using known image data compression formats, such as JPEG. Similarly, the other image capture devices 2b to 2d which are present in the switchpanel are used to record images of other installation components in the switchpanel, and corresponding image data are transferred to the server data processing device 4 and are stored there. The image data stored on the server data processing device 4 can now be transferred to the client data processing devices 6a and 6b via the communication network 5. The client data processing devices 6a and 6b can now be used to convert the image data into appropriate image displays and to display them on display devices, usually monitors. Figure 1 therefore shows an image of the transformer 1 monitored by the image capture device 2a, generated from the transferred image data, purely in eye-catching form on the monitors of the client data processing devices 6a and 6b. By way of example, the image capture devices 2a and 2d may be image capture devices for capturing frames at defined intervals of time. By way of example, image data from the relevant installation components may thus be recorded every 10 seconds and stored on the server data processing device 4. In that case, the client data processing devices 6a and 6b show a discontinuous image display which is updated every 10 seconds, for example. Alternatively, the image capture devices 2a to 2d may also continuously capture image data from the installation components, so that what is happening on the switchpanel, "life" so to speak, can thus be observed continuously on the client data processing devices 6a and 6b. In both cases, provision may be made for older image data on the server data processing device 4 to be deleted again after a certain time in order to create storage space for freshly recorded image data. The image monitoring of the technical installation allows the operating personnel to observe what is happening on the switchpanel very conveniently on the client data processing devices 6a and 6b and to recognize certain fault situations quickly, for example. It is therefore possible for mechanical damage to the transformer 1 to be recognized quickly using the image of the transformer displayed on the client data processing devices 6a and 6b, for example. Normally, however, it will not be necessary to transfer all the image data stored on the server data processing device 4 to the client data processing devices 6a and 6b constantly. By way of example, provision may. be made for a client data processing device to use an electronic request sent to the server data processing device 4 via the network 5 to request the stored image data and for the stored image data to be transferred from the server data processing device 4 to the relevant client data processing device in response to this request. In addition, provision may also be made for the electronic request to be used to transfer only the image data from a selected installation component or from a few selected installation components from the server data processing device 4 to the relevant client data processing device. To this end, by way of example, the display devices on the client data processing devices 6a and 6b can be used to show a schematic representation - for example a block diagram - of the technical installation. In this context, the schematic representation comprises individual component representations (e.g. symbols for switches, transformers, etc.), these component representations being associated with respective corresponding real installation components in the technical installation. By selecting one of the component representations displayed, for example by means of a mouse click on the client data processing device, it is possible to activate a link which prompts the server data processing device 4 to transfer precisely the image data corresponding to the selected component representation to the respective client data processing device. This is explained in more detail in figure 2 . This is because figure 2 shows a possible view of a screen representation of the automation software by way of example. Normally, the automation software will be installed on the server data processing device and will be executed there, so that the client data processing device mainly needs to have a web browser installed on it which is used to access the automation software. However, it is also conceivable for the automation software to be installed on the client data processing device itself and to be executed thereon. In this case, no web browser is required. In the example which follows, however, the former case will be assumed. In figure 2, it is possible to see a browser window 11, which may be a window in Microsoft Internet Explorer™ or a window in Netscape Navigator™, for example. A browser is an interface which a user of a client data processing device can use to access a server data processing device. The browser window 11 also has a plurality of individual windows, for example a settings window 12 "Settings", a tools window 13 "Tools" and a control window 14 "Control". For the sake of simplicity, the settings and tools windows 12 and 13 are shown empty in figure 2. This is where it is possible to provide settings options and tools options for controlling the automation software, for example. The control window 14 can be used to select various parts of a technical installation, which is monitored using the automation system, from a structured tree representation, as is also known from Microsoft Windows Explorer™, for example. By way of example, a specific technical installation (substation 3) associated with a superordinate installation (station 1) is selected in the control window 14. In turn, a specific section (unit 2) of the specific technical installation (substation 3) has been selected and is marked by means of a frame in the control window 14. This section (unit 2) of the technical installation is shown in detail in an overview window 15. In a schematic representation of what is known as a "single line diagram", it is possible to see two busbars which are connected to one another by means of transformers and circuit breakers arranged on the outgoing connections of the transformers. In the single line diagram, the installation components in the relevant section of the technical installation are shown using component representations, for example the transformers are shown in the form of transformer symbols 16, while the component representation for circuit breakers is displayed in the form of switch symbols 17 in the overview window 15. Normally, states of the individual installation components can be displayed in such an overview window, e.g. the position of a circuit breaker can be shown. In addition, it is also possible to perform control actions directly in the overview window, for example in order to open or close a circuit breaker. Furthermore, visual monitoring of the installation components using the described method is possible. To this end, the component representations have associated links such that when the component representations are selected, for example by clicking with a mouse, a corresponding electronic request is generated which is sent from the respective client data processing device to the server data processing device 4 via the network 5. This electronic request prompts the server data processing device 4 to transmit the image data from the installation components associated with the selected component representation to the requesting client data processing device. In the case in figure 2, the component representation 17 of a circuit breaker (Circuit Breaker 3) has been selected, which uses an electronic request to prompt the server data processing device 4 to transmit the image data from the relevant circuit breaker to the client data processing device. The transmitted image data are displayed as an image in an image window 18. In the image window 18, it is therefore possible to see three switch poles of the circuit breaker associated with the component representations 17. By clicking on other component representations, it is similarly possible to retrieve the respective relevant image data from the server data processing device. In this way, all the image data are not constantly displayed as images on the client data processing device. In addition, the automation system shown in figure 1 may have provision for an alteration to an installation component to prompt the relevant image data to be automatically sent from the server data processing device 4 to the client data processing devices 6a and 6b and to be shown there. By way of example, such an alteration to an installation component can be made using image recognition which automatically recognizes alterations to the installation component in question. By way of example, this allows mechanical deformations in monitored installation components to be recognized. An image of the relevant installation component can then be automatically displayed to the operating personnel on the client data processing devices 6a, 6b, possibly in conjunction with an appropriate warning report. Alternatively, the automation system can also recognize, by way of example, that a control action has been initiated on a particular installation component or that an installation component has a fault. By way of example, this can be recognized from currents in relevant installation components, detected by the automation system using current transformers. The relevant image data from the relevant installation component are then automatically retrieved from the server data processing device 4 and transferred to the client data processing devices 6a and 6b. When a "Request-Respond" communication protocol, for example the HTTP internet protocol, is used, the image data automatically captured from the relevant installation component are first of all stored on the server data processing device 4 and are transferred to the client data processing devices 6a and 6b when they next retrieve them. WE CLAIM 1. A method for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation using an automation system which controls and/or monitors the technical installation, in which at least one image capture device generates image data from the at least one installation component; the captured image data are transferred to a server data processing device and are stored there; the stored image data are transmitted to a client data processing device having a display device; characterized in that the client data processing device displays a schematic representation, with individual installation components having respective associated component representations in the displayed schematic representation, and with the respective component representations having selectable links, and in that selection of a link is followed by the image data from that installation component which is associated with the relevant component representation being transferred to the client data processing device. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein : the image data stored on the server data processing device are retrieved by virtue of the client data processing device sending an electronic request to the server data processing device, and wherein the image data stored on the server data processing device are transferred to the client data processing device in response to the electronic request. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the image capture device captures the image data as frames at prescribed intervals of time. 4. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2. wherein the image capture device captures the image data as continuous images. 5. The method as claimed one of the preceding claims, wherein an alternation to a state of an installation component automatically prompts the image data associated with this installation component to be transferred to the client data processing device and to be displayed there as an image. 6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein when a Request-Respond communication protocol, particularly the HTTP protocol, is used, an alteration to a state of an installation component prompts the image data associated with this installation component to be stored on the server data processing device first of all, and wherein the stored data are automatically transferred to the client data processing device when image data are next retrieved by the client data processing device. 7. An automation system for monitoring and/or controlling a technical installation, comprising : an image capture device for generating image data from at least one installation component in the technical installation, the automation system having a server data processing device on which the generated image data are stored; and a client data processing device having a display device, wherein the client data processing device displays a schematic representation, with individual installation components having respective associated component representations in the displayed schematic representation, and with the respective component representations having selectable links, and in that selection of a link is followed by the image data from that installation component which is associated with the relevant component representation being transferred to the client data processing device. 8. The automation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the image capture device is configured for frame capture. 9. The automation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the image capture device is configured for capturing continuous images. The invention relates to a method for monitoring at least one installation component in a technical installation using an automation system which controls and/or monitors the technical installation, in which at least one image capture device generates image data from the at least one installation component; the captured image data are transferred to a server data processing device and are stored there; the stored image data are transmitted to a client data processing device having a display device; the client data processing device displays a schematic representation, with individual installation components having respective associated component representations in the displayed schematic representation, and with the respective component representations having selectable links, and in that selection of a link is followed by the image data from that installation component which is associated with the relevant component representation being transferred to the client data processing device.

Documents:

00527-kolnp-2007 abstract.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 assignment.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 claims.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 correspondence other .pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 description(complete).pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 drawings.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 form 1.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 form 2.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 form 3.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 form 5.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 international publication.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 international surch authorityu report.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 others.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 pct form.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007 priority document.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007- correspondence-1.2.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007- others document.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007-correspondence-1.1.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007-correspondence-1.3.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007-form-18.pdf

00527-kolnp-2007-priority document-1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-(13-08-2012)-FORM-27.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-ABSTRACT 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-AMANDED CLAIMS.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE) 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-DRAWINGS 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 1 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 18.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 2 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 3 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 3.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 5 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-FORM 5.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GPA.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-ABSTRACT.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-CLAIMS.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-DRAWINGS.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-FORM 1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-FORM 2.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-GRANTED-SPECIFICATION.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-OTHERS 1.1.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-OTHERS.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-PETITION UNDER RULE 137.pdf

527-KOLNP-2007-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT.pdf

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