Wireless handheld communicator in a process control environment
First Claim
1. A method of communicating with a device in a process control environment, comprising:
- storing communication information in a handheld communicator defining a communication protocol for wirelessly communicating with the device; and
wirelessly communicating with the device using the handheld communicator and the defined communication protocol.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A handheld communicator wirelessly interfaces or communicates with individual devices in a process control system, such as field devices, controllers, etc., to wirelessly perform monitoring, maintenance, configuration and control activities with respect to those devices. The wireless handheld communicator includes a housing adapted for handheld operation, a processing unit disposed within the housing, a computer readable memory disposed within the housing and coupled to the processing unit and a display, a keypad and a radio frequency transceiver. The handheld communicator may be adapted to communicate with a host system to receive information needed to communicate with various field devices in the process plant and may then be used to wirelessly communicate with each of the various field devices directly while in close proximity to the field devices to perform monitoring and configuration activities with respect to the field devices. Thereafter, information obtained from the field devices may be wirelessly communicated to the host system or to a repository, such as a data historian or a configuration database.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of communicating with a device in a process control environment, comprising:
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storing communication information in a handheld communicator defining a communication protocol for wirelessly communicating with the device; and
wirelessly communicating with the device using the handheld communicator and the defined communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A communication system for use in a process environment having a plurality of devices distributed in a process plant, the communication system comprising:
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a handheld communicator having a processing unit, a computer readable memory, a graphical display unit, an input device and a first wireless transceiver; and
a second wireless transceiver disposed in the process environment and communicatively coupled to at least one of the plurality of devices;
wherein the handheld communicator further includes a memory adapted to store communication information that defines a manner of communicating with the at least one of the plurality of devices and a communication routine adapted to be executed on the processor to communicate with the at least one of the plurality of devices through the first and second transceivers using the communication information. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A communication system for use in a process environment, comprising:
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a plurality of devices distributed in the process environment for performing one or more control or measurement activities within the process environment;
a first wireless transceiver disposed in the process environment and communicatively connected to at least one of the plurality of devices;
a handheld communicator having a processing unit, a computer readable memory, a graphical display unit, an input device, and a second wireless transceiver, the handheld communicator further including a memory adapted to store communication information that defines a manner of communicating with the at least one of the plurality of devices and a communication routine adapted to be executed on the processor to communicate with the at least one of the plurality of devices through the first and second transceivers using the communication information.
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- 35. The communication system of claim 35, wherein the first wireless transceiver is disposed on the at least one of the plurality of devices.
Specification