Title of Invention

DUAL PROTOCOL HANDHELD FIELD MAINTENANCE TOOL WITH RADIO-FREQUENCY COMMUNICATION

Abstract

A dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool (22, 200) is provided with radio frequency communication. The radio frequency communication can be provided by virtue of an SDIO card (204) inserted within an SDIO slot (202) in the handheld field maintenance tool (22, 200). A method (300) of interacting with a process (10) using a dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool (22, 200) is also provided.

Full Text

DUAL PROTOCOL HANDHELD FIELD MAINTENANCE TOOL WITH RADIO-FREQUENCY COMMUNICATION BACKGROUND Handheld field maintenance tools are known. Such tools are highly useful in the process control and measurement industry to allow operators to conveniently communicate with and/or interrogate field devices in a given process installation. Examples of such process installations include petroleum, pharmaceutical, chemical, pulp and other processing installations. In such installations, the process control and measurement network may include tens or even hundreds of various field devices which periodically require maintenance to ensure that such devices are functioning properly and/or calibrated. Moreover/ when one or more errors in the process control and measurement installation is detected, the use of a handheld field maintenance tool allows technicians to quickly diagnose such errors in the field. Handheld field maintenance tools can be manufactured to comply with Intrinsic Safety requirement s. Such requirements are intended to guarantee that instrument operation or failure cannot cause ignition if the instrument is properly installed in an environment that contains explosive gasses. This is accomplished by limiting the maximum energy stored in the transmitter in a worst case Another major process industry communication protocol is known as the, FOUNDATION™ f ieldbus communication protocol. This protocol is based on an ISA standard (ISA-S50.01-1992, promulgated by the Instrument Society' of America in 1992) - A practical implementation was specified by the Fieldbus Foundation (FF) . FOUNDATION™ Fieldbus is an all-digital comirrunication protocol with a transmission rate of approximately 31.25 Kbits/SEC. SUMMARY A dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool is provided with radio frequency communication. The radio frequency commination can be provided by virtue of an SDIO card inserted within an SDIO slot in the handheld field maintenance tool. A method of interacting with a process using a dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool is also provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 illustrates a multidrop wiring configuration. Figs. 2A and 2B illustrate ways in which an intrinsically safe field maintenance tool may be connected to a field device. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of field maintenance tool in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. communication and includes a radio- frequency communication module. The improved handheld field maintenance tool facilitates convenient interaction with individual field devices and/or sensors as well as providing advanced diagnostic and/or configuration features. Further details and benefits of the improved handheld field maintenance tool in accordance with embodiments of the present invention will be appreciated after reading the description below. Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary system in which embodiments of the present invention are particularly useful. System 10 includes controller 12, I/O and control sub-system 14, intrinsic safety (IS) barrier 16, process communication loop 18 and field devices 20. Controller 12 is coupled to I/O and control sub-system 14 via link 21 which can be any suitable link such as a local area network (LAN) operating in accordance with Ethernet signaling protocols or any other suitable protocol. I/O and control sub-system 14 is coupled to intrinsic safety barrier 16 which in turn is coupled to process communication loop 13 to allow data communication between loop 18 and I/O and control sub-system 14 in a manner that limits energy passing therethrough. In this illustration, process communication or process control loop 18 is a FOUNDATION™ fieldbus process communication loop and is coupled to field devices 20, which are shown coupled arranged in a process industry standard protocols. For example, when tool 22 is to be coupled to a loop of a first process industry standard protocol, such coupling is effected using terminal 26 and common terminal 2 8. Accordingly, the connection then is made via media access unit 3 2 which is configured to interact upon the process communication loop in accordance with the first industry standard protocol, Additionally, when tool 22 is to be coupled to a process communication and control loop that operates in accordance with a second industry standard protocol, such connection is made via common terminal 2 S and terminal 3 0. Thus r such a connection is effected via the second media access unit 34 which is configured to interact upon the process communication loop in accordance with the second industry standard protocol. Both media access units 3 2 and 34 are coupled to processor 3 6 which receives data from one of the media access units and interprets that data accordingly. Processor 3 5 is also coupled to keypad module 3 8 and display module 40. Keypad module 3 8 is coupled to the keypad on the housing of tool 22 in order to receive various keypad inputs from a user. Display module 40 is coupled to the display to provide data and/or a user interface. Tool 2 2 may include infrared data access port 42 which is coupled to processor 36 to allow tool 22 to transfer information to and from a separate device using infrared wireless require partial disassembly of tool 22, such as removing the battery pack to access port 50. Tool 22 may include removable memory module 44 which is removably coupled to processor 3 6 via port/interface 46. Removable memory module 44 is adapted to store software applications that can be executed instead of primary applications on processor 3S. For example, module 44 may contain applications that use the HART® or FOUNDATION™ fieldbus communication port, to provide a comprehensive diagnostic for a given field device. Module 44 may store software applications that aid in the calibration or configuration of specific devices. Module 44 may also store a software image" for a new or updated primary device application that can subsequently be transferred into the nonvolatile memory of device 22 to enable execution of the updated application. Further still, module 44 provides removable memory storage for the configuration of multiple devices allowing a field maintenance operator to acquire a relatively substantial amount of device data and conveniently store or transfer such data by simply removing module 44 . Preferably, the software installable via removable memory module 44 is separately licensable by allowing a field maintenance technician to purchase a license key with the software that is based upon the serial number of ' removable memory promulgated by Factory Mutual Research October, 1988. Adaptations to comply with additional industrial standards such as Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the European CENELEC standards are also contemplated. Examples of specific structural adaptations ' for memory module 44 and/or interface 4 6 to facilitate compliance include energy limiting circuits such that the operating voltage level of memory module 44 is sufficiently low that stored energy within module 44 cannot generate a source of ignition. Module 44 may include current limiting circuitry to ensure that in the event that specific terminals' on module 44 are shorted, that the discharge energy is sufficiently low that ignition is inhibited. Finally, interface 46 may include physical characteristics that are specifically designed to prevent exposure of electrical contacts on memory module 44: to an external environment while simultaneously allowing suitable interface contacts to make electrical contact with module 44. For example, module 44 may include an overmolding that can be pierced or otherwise displaced by coupling module 44 to interface 46. Interface 4 6 can be constructed to accept and operate with cards manufactured in accordance with the known Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) specification: Secure Digital Input/Output Card Specification Version l. 00, October 2001, maintained by the SD Association. technologies {such as Microburst® by Aeris Communications Inc. of San Jose, California) , ultra wideband, global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio services (GPRS), code division multiple access (CDMA), spread spectrum technology, ' short messaging service/text messaging (SMS), or any other suitable radio frequency wireless technology. Further, known data collision technology can be employed such that multiple handheld field maintenance tools employing radio frequency communication module 100 can coexist and operate within wireless operating range of one another. Such collision prevention can include a number of different' radio-frequency channels and/or spread spectrum techniques. Additionally, RP communication module 10 0 can be a commercially available biuetooth communication module. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, RF communication module 10 0 is a component within handheld field maintenance tool 22 that is coupled to an antenna {not shown) that may be an internal or external antenna. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a handheld field maintenance tool in accordance with -another embodiment of the present invention. Handheld field maintenance tool 2 00 bears many similarities to handheld field maintenance tool 22 and like components are numbered similarly. Handheld field maintenance tool 200 includes a standardized interface port 202. Standardised interface port 2 02 FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of handheld field maintenance tool 20 0 interacting with system 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, dual protocol handheld field maintenance tool 200 can communicate wirelessly with' controller 12 if controller 12 is provided with commercially available wireless communication technologies, indicated diagrammatically at reference numeral 210. This wireless communication can take many forms including messaging and/or requests for authorization. In particular, a maintenance technician or process engineer using handheld field maintenance tool 2 00 can be in the field and, as long as the maintenance technician or process engineer is located within wireless range of controller 12, initiate a key -sequence on the handheld field maintenance tool that notifies the operator at controller 12 of the intended activity of the maintenance technician or process engineer. Then, with the permission and/or assistance of the operator of controller 12, the maintenance technician or process engineer can perform certain operations, such as configuration, on a field device without actually physically connecting to it. Moreover, the use of the wireless communication protocol to send a signal or signals to a controller to cause some desired action within the wire process communication network can allow the maintenance technician to observe the response or responses of various field devices itself, whether that state be a variable or variables contained therein/ or the change of a physical state, such as setting an alarm, indicator, or moving an actuator, such as a valve. At block 3 08, the change is detected. Preferably this detection is done by a technician either by visually inspecting a change relative to a field device, or by coupling the terminals of the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool to the process communication loop or to an affected field device. Method 3 00 allows a maintenance technician to, using wireless radio-frequency communication, effect one or more changes to or upon the field devices coupled to the process loop. These changes can then be observed by the maintenance technician or process engineer in order to facilitate process communication loop diagnostics, field device diagnostics, field device configuration, and/or field device calibration. FIG 8 is a diagrammatic view of another situation in which a dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool having wireless radio frequency communication is particularly useful. In some process installations, the sensors themselves transmit raw wireless data to a intermediate device, such as a process variable transmitter, which then calculates a process variable from the raw sensor data and transmits process information based on such data. FIG. 8 illustrates process variable transmitter 40 0 or more wireless sensors. As defined herein, a wireless sensor is any device that senses information indicative of the sensor's primary variable of interest. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the sensors 4 02 and 404 are directly interfaced to the process (machine 4 06) making measurements of one or more physical parameters. Handheld field maintenance tool 200 can be used to set up, validate and troubleshoot each or both of the sensors 4 02 and 404 without making any physical connections thereto. Without the wireless communication ability of handheld field maintenance tool 200, tool 2 00 would not be able to directly communicate with the sensor. Instead, communications would only be available through field device 400. Thus, if any error or problem existed within device 4 00, communication to sensors 4 02 and 4 04 could be compromised. Although the present invention has . been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 4. The dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication standard is IEEE 802.11b. 5. The dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication standard is Bluetooth. 6. A dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool comprising: terminals selectably coupleable to a process communication loop having a process industry standard communi cat ion protocol; first and second media access units coupled to the terminals, wherein the first media access unit is adapted to communicate in accordance with a first process industry standard protocol, and wherein the second media access unit is adapted to communicate in accordance with a second process industry standard protocol; a processor coupled to the first and second media access units; and an SDIO card interface coupled to the processor. 7. The handheld field maintenance tool of claim 6, and further comprising a radio-frequency communication module installed in the SDIO card interface of the tool. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the change is detected with the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the change is detected by physically coupling the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool to a process communication loop. 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the change is detected by physically coupling the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool to a field device. 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the process-wired device is a controller. 17. A method of interacting with a wireless process sensor coupled to a process and transmitting raw sensor information wirelessly, the method comprising: entering at least one • keystroke into the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool; causing the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool to receive at least some of the raw sensor infcrmation; and displaying information on a user-interface of the dual-protocol handheld field maintenance tool based on the raw sensor information.

Documents:

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 28-09-2011.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 06-09-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 22-02-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 28-09-2011.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED CLAIMS 30-08-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 30-08-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 06-09-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 30-08-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 28-09-2011.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 FORM-3 30-08-2012.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 POWER OF ATTORNEY 28-09-2011.pdf

2488-CHENP-2007 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 22-02-2012.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-abstract.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-assignement.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-claims.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-correspondnece-others.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-description(complete).pdf

2488-chenp-2007-drawings.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-form 1.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-form 3.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-form 5.pdf

2488-chenp-2007-pct.pdf