Patent Document ID: 20030028823
Application ID: 10209384
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for automatic generation of an extended fault tree structure adapted to one of a production installation type and a specific production installation, which comprises: providing a data processor having stored programs and data stores including a fault database, a fault tree memory, and a verification script memory; entering fault events in the fault database one of through a data input and determined from data called up from a data server; storing, with the data stores: fault events in the fault database; a prescribed general hierarchical fault tree structure and the extended fault tree structure in the fault tree memory; and verification scripts for a verification of fault hypotheses in the verification script memory; generating, based upon the prescribed general hierarchical fault tree structure, the extended fault tree structure by carrying out functions of a hypothesis verifier, a fault data classifier, and a hypothesis configurer with the data processor and the stored programs; entering and altering fault hypotheses with a hypothesis editor; and producing the extended fault tree structure by: the hypothesis verifier accessing data from the data server; the hypothesis verifier deriving, from the accessed data, fault events according to execution requirements of the verification scripts; the hypothesis verifier storing these fault events in the fault database; at prescribable time intervals, the fault data classifier: classifying the fault events by accessing the fault database; mapping the fault events as weighted causes of faults onto the fault tree structure; and at least one of: displaying the extended fault tree structure through a display device; and feeding the extended fault tree structure to an output device.