Support for Network Management and Device Communications in a Wireless Network
First Claim
1. A method of efficiently operating a wireless communication network in a process control environment, wherein the wireless communication network includes a plurality of field devices, the method comprising:
- defining a communication protocol for supporting wireless communications between pairs of the plurality of field devices, including providing a set of protocol commands;
transferring process control data from at least some of the plurality of field devices using a first subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol; and
transferring network management data to at least some of the plurality of field devices using a second subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of efficiently operating a wireless communication network in a process control environment, such that the wireless communication network includes a plurality of field devices, includes defining a communication protocol for supporting wireless communications between pairs of the plurality of field devices, including providing a set of protocol commands, transferring process control data from at least some of the plurality of field devices using a first subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol, and transferring network management data to at least some of the plurality of field devices using a second subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of efficiently operating a wireless communication network in a process control environment, wherein the wireless communication network includes a plurality of field devices, the method comprising:
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defining a communication protocol for supporting wireless communications between pairs of the plurality of field devices, including providing a set of protocol commands; transferring process control data from at least some of the plurality of field devices using a first subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol; and transferring network management data to at least some of the plurality of field devices using a second subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of transferring data in a wireless mesh communication network including a plurality of wireless field devices and operating in a process control environment, the method comprising:
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generating a communication schedule for the wireless mesh communication network, including; defining a communication timeslot of a certain duration; defining a plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes as repeating cycles of a number of consecutively scheduled communication timeslots; associating a first one of the plurality of concurrent superframes with network management data; and associating a subset of the plurality of concurrent superframes with process control data, wherein the subset does not include the first one of the plurality of concurrent superframes; and scheduling communications of each of the plurality of wireless field devices within communication timeslots associated with the plurality of concurrent superframes. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of transferring data in a wireless mesh communication network including a plurality of wireless network devices and operating in a process control environment, the method comprising:
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generating a communication schedule for the wireless mesh communication network, including defining a plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes as repeating cycles of a number of consecutively scheduled communication timeslots of a fixed duration; generating a plurality of directed graphs defining communication paths in a direction of one of toward or away from each the plurality of network devices, wherein each directed graph includes at least one of a plurality direct connections between pairs of the plurality of network devices; and assigning transmission opportunities to a plurality of communication timeslots, wherein each of the plurality of communication timeslots is scheduled within one of the plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes, and wherein each of the plurality of communication timeslots is associated with one of the plurality direct connections associated with one of the plurality of directed graphs, including; associating a first one of the plurality of communication timeslots with transmission of process data; and associating a first one of the plurality of communication timeslots with transmission of network management data. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of efficiently operating a wireless communication network in a process control environment, wherein the wireless communication network includes a plurality of field devices, the method comprising:
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defining a communication protocol for supporting wireless communications between pairs of the plurality of field devices, including providing a set of protocol commands; transferring device data from at least some of the plurality of field devices using a first subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol; and transferring network management data to at least some of the plurality of field devices using a second subset of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification