METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IMPLEMENT A REMOTE TERMINAL UNIT NETWORK

• US 20140092083A1
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Published: 04/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bristol (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Bristol (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Vanderah, Richard Joseph, Smid, David Lee, Condit, Rickie Lee
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,446 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4035 in which slots of a TDMA packet structure are assigned based on a contention resolution carried out at a master unit TDM/TDMA multiplex systems per se H04J3/1694; hybrid switching systems H04L12/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/4026 Bus for use in automation systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1061 using node-based peer discovery mechanisms static access to replicated servers H04L67/1006; service discovery H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0825 with collision detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0858 collision detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to implement a remote terminal unit network are disclosed. An example method involves allocating, via a processor of a first remote terminal unit, a first time slot of a first frame of a first transmission schedule to the first remote terminal unit, the first remote terminal unit to be in communication with a second remote terminal unit in a network associated with a process control system and to be in communication with a host of the process control system, the first remote terminal unit to communicate first data over the network during the first time slot, and allocating, via the processor, a second time slot of the first frame to the second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to communicate second data over the network during the second time slot.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

allocating, via a processor of a first remote terminal unit, a first time slot of a first frame of a first transmission schedule to the first remote terminal unit, the first remote terminal unit to be in communication with a second remote terminal unit in a network associated with a process control system and to be in communication with a host of the process control system, the first remote terminal unit to communicate first data over the network during the first time slot; and

allocating, via the processor, a second time slot of the first frame to the second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to communicate second data over the network during the second time slot.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising discovering the second remote terminal unit by:

communicating a first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit;

receiving a response from the second remote terminal unit communicating the identification data, the identification data to be communicated during a random time slot of the first transmission schedule randomly selected by the second remote terminal unit;

if other data is communicated over the network during the random time slot, communicating the first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide the identification data a second time; and

if the other data is not communicated during the random time slot, recording the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit and communicating a second message over the network requesting other undiscovered remote terminal units to provide corresponding identification data, the second message to include the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit to instruct the second remote terminal unit not to respond to the second message.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising commissioning the second remote terminal unit in the network by communicating the first transmission schedule to the second remote terminal unit via the first remote terminal unit and providing instructions to the second remote terminal unit to communicate the second data during the second time slot.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a second transmission schedule based on the first transmission schedule, the second transmission schedule to be implemented by the second remote terminal unit.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising commissioning the second remote terminal unit in the network by communicating the second transmission schedule to the second remote terminal unit via the first remote terminal unit.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transmission schedule comprises a second frame, the first remote terminal unit to communicate third data over the network during a third time slot of the second frame and the second remote terminal unit to communicate fourth data over the network during a fourth time slot of the second frame.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a position of the first time slot of the first frame corresponds to a position of the third time slot of the second frame and a position of the second time slot of the first frame corresponds to a position of the fourth time slot of the second frame.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second data communicated during the first frame of the first transmission schedule comprises process variable data obtained from field devices in the process control system, and wherein the fourth data communicated during the second frame comprises at least one of configuration data, diagnostic data, or pass-through data.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating time data of the first remote terminal unit over the network, via the first remote terminal unit, to enable a clock of the second remote terminal unit to be synchronized with the first remote terminal unit.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the time slots are allocated based on a total number of remote terminal units in the network to enable the network to cycle through the first transmission schedule within a predetermined time period.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating over the network, via the first remote terminal unit, instructions to the second remote terminal unit to flash one or more indicator lights on the second remote terminal unit.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating over the network, via the first remote terminal unit, instructions to the second remote terminal unit to enter a sleep mode during a third time slot of the first frame of the first transmission schedule, wherein the third time slot is not allocated to any device to communicate data.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a processor of a first remote terminal unit, the first remote terminal unit to be in communication with a second remote terminal unit in a network associated with a process control system and to be in communication with a host of the process control system, the processor to execute a network interface to enable communications over the network and to execute a network configuration application, the network configuration application to generate a transmission schedule allocating first and second time slots of a first frame of the transmission schedule for the respective first and second remote terminal units, the first remote terminal unit to communicate first data over the network during the first time slot and the second remote terminal unit to communicate second data over the network during the second time slot.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising a high-speed communications interface to communicatively couple the processor to the first remote terminal unit.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the high-speed communications interface is to communicate data via at least one of a backplane, a universal serial bus cable, a circuit board trace, or an Ethernet cable.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is to execute a discovery application, the discovery application to discover the second remote terminal unit within the network by:

communicating a first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit;

receiving a response from the second remote terminal unit communicating the identification data, the identification data to be communicated during a random time slot of the transmission schedule randomly selected by the second remote terminal unit;

if other data is communicated over the network during the random time slot, communicating the first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide the identification data a second time; and

if the other data is not communicated during the random time slot, recording the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit and communicating a second message over the network requesting other undiscovered remote terminal units to provide corresponding identification data, the second message to include the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit to instruct the second remote terminal unit not to respond to the second message.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is to execute a commissioning application, the commissioning application to commission the second remote terminal unit in the network by communicating the transmission schedule to the second remote terminal unit via the network interface and providing instructions to the second remote terminal unit to communicate the second data during the second time slot.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is to generate a second transmission schedule based on the transmission schedule, the second transmission schedule to be implemented by the second remote terminal unit.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the processor is to execute a commissioning application, the commissioning application to commission the second remote terminal unit in the network by communicating the second transmission schedule to the second remote terminal unit via the first remote terminal unit.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the transmission schedule comprises a second frame, the first remote terminal unit to communicate third data over the network during a third time slot of the second frame and the second remote terminal unit to communicate fourth data over the network during a fourth time slot of the second frame.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein positions of the first and second time slots of the first frame correspond to positions of the third and fourth time slots of the second frame, respectively.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the second data communicated during the first frame of the transmission schedule comprises process variable data obtained from field devices in the process control system, and wherein the fourth data communicated during the second frame comprises at least one of configuration data, diagnostic data, or pass-through data.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first remote terminal unit is to communicate time data over the network to enable a clock of the second remote terminal unit to be synchronized with the first remote terminal unit.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the time slots are allocated based on a total number of remote terminal units in the network to enable the network to cycle through the transmission schedule within a predetermined time period.

25. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the network is a wireless network.

26. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

allocate a first time slot of a first frame of a transmission schedule to a first remote terminal unit, the first remote terminal unit in communication with a second remote terminal unit in a network of a process control system and in communication with a host of the process control system, the first remote terminal unit to communicate first data over the network during the first time slot; and

allocate a second time slot of the first frame to the second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to communicate second data over the network during the second time slot.

27. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to discover the second remote terminal unit by:

communicating a first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit;

receiving a response from the second remote terminal unit communicating the identification data, the identification data to be communicated during a random time slot of the transmission schedule randomly selected by the second remote terminal unit;

if other data is communicated over the network during the random time slot, communicating the first message over the network to request the second remote terminal unit to provide the identification data a second time; and

if the other data is not communicated during the random time slot, recording the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit and communicating a second message over the network requesting other undiscovered remote terminal units to provide corresponding identification data, the second message to include the identification data associated with the second remote terminal unit to instruct the second remote terminal unit not to respond to the second message.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the transmission schedule comprises a second frame, the first remote terminal unit to communicate additional data over the network during a third time slot of the second frame and the second remote terminal unit to communicate additional data over the network during a fourth time slot of the second frame.

29. The computer readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the data communicated during the first frame of the transmission schedule comprises process variable data obtained from field devices in the process control system, and wherein the additional data communicated during the second frame comprises at least one of configuration data, diagnostic data, or pass-through data.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to communicate time data of the first remote terminal unit over the network to enable a clock of the second remote terminal unit to be synchronized with the first remote terminal unit.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the time slots are allocated based on a total number of remote terminal units in the network to enable the network to cycle through the transmission schedule within a predetermined time period.

32. An apparatus, comprising:

a first remote terminal unit to be included in a network of remote terminal units, the first remote terminal unit including a processor and a transmitter, the processor to implement a transmission schedule according to which the first remote terminal unit is to be allocated two of a plurality of time slots within a given period of time to wirelessly communicate first data and second data, respectively, the first data to be communicated to a second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to be wirelessly communicatively coupled to a host.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first data is input/output (I/I) data and further comprising an I/O module to obtain the I/O data via a field device.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising a clock, wherein the transmission schedule is to be implemented based on time data provided by the clock.

35. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

according to a transmission schedule in which each of a plurality of remote terminal units in a network are to be allocated two of a plurality of time slots within a given period of time, wirelessly communicate first data during a first one of the plurality of time slots to one of the plurality of remote terminal units, the one of the plurality of remote terminal units wirelessly communicatively coupled to a host; and

according to the transmission schedule, wirelessly communicate second data during a second one of the plurality of time slots.

36. The computer readable storage medium of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to obtain the transmission schedule from the one of the plurality of remote terminal units in the network.

37. The computer readable storage medium of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to generate the transmission schedule in response to receiving an overall transmission schedule.

38. The computer readable storage medium of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to set a clock in response to receiving a message from the one of the plurality of remote terminal units, the message comprising time data.

39. The computer readable storage medium of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to obtain the second data via a process unit.

40. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

generate a visual representation of communication to be implemented via a wireless communication network, the wireless communication network to include a first remote terminal unit and a second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to be communicatively coupled to the first remote terminal unit and a process unit;

display the visual representation; and

update the visual representation based on an input to be provided via one of a user or the first remote terminal unit, wherein the visual representation is to correspond to the communication to be implemented via the wireless communication network.

41. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to communicate a command to the first remote terminal unit based on the input provided via the user, the command to cause the communication to be implemented via the wireless communication network to correspond with the visual representation.

42. The computer readable storage medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to communicate the command to cause the communication to correspond with the visual representation by communicating a command to the first remote terminal unit to command the second remote terminal unit to communicate data.

43. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to update the visual representation by generating an image based on the input and displaying the visual representation including the image.

44. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to update the visual representation based on the input to be provided via the first remote terminal unit by generating an alert.

45. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation by:

generating a first image, the first image representative of the first remote terminal unit;

generating a second image, the second image representative of the second remote terminal unit; and

generating a third image, the third image representative of data to be acquired via one of the first remote terminal unit or the second remote terminal unit.

46. The computer readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation by generating a fourth image, the fourth image representative of data to be communicated via the first remote terminal unit or the second remote terminal unit.

47. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation based on an input by a user.

48. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation based on an input by the first remote terminal unit.

49. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

generate an interactive visual representation of a wireless communication network, the wireless communication network to include a first remote terminal unit and a second remote terminal unit, the second remote terminal unit to be communicatively coupled to the first remote terminal unit and a process control device;

display the visual representation;

update the visual representation based on an input provided via a user; and

based on the input, communicate a command to the first remote terminal unit to control communication within the wireless communication network.

50. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to communicate the command to control the communication by communicating a command to the first remote terminal unit to command the second remote terminal unit to communicate data.

51. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to update the visual representation based on an input provided via the first remote terminal unit.

52. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to update the visual representation based on the input provided via the first remote terminal unit by generating an alert and displaying the alert.

53. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation by:

generating a first image, the first image representative of the first remote terminal unit;

generating a second image, the second image representative of the second remote terminal unit; and

generating a third image, the third image representative of data to be acquired via one of the first remote terminal unit or the second remote terminal unit.

54. The computer readable storage medium of claim 53, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to generate the visual representation by generating a fourth image, the fourth image representative of data to be communicated via the first remote terminal unit or the second remote terminal unit.

55. The computer readable storage medium of claim 49, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to update the visual representation by generating an image based on the input and displaying the visual representation including the image.