Wearable computer in a process control environment

• US 7,230,582 B1
• Filed: 02/12/1999
• Issued: 06/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Burr, Kent A., Dove, Andrew P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang; Regina
• Application Number:
  US09/249,597
• Time in Patent Office: 3,042 Days
• Field of Search: 345 7- 9, 345 11- 13, 345/2.1, 345/2.3, 345 31- 34, 348 51- 53, 348/115, 709/200, 709/204, 709217-219, 709/224, 709/250
• US Class Current: 345/2.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt

Abstract

A wearable computer for use in a process control environment includes a central processing unit, a memory and a number of peripheral devices such as a heads up display, a microphone, a video camera and a remote communication device that communicates with a host computer. The wearable computer provides information pertaining to one or more devices within a process control system (such as diagnostic information, help information, operator overviews, schematics or process parameter information) via the heads up display. The wearable computer also executes a routine that processes the video camera image to automatically identify process control devices within the field of view of the wearer based on device features such as device tags, a routine that enables a wearer to verify the proper connection of devices and/or communication channels within a process control system, a routine that displays a common image on both the heads up display and an operator workstation display and a routine that stores and automatically retrieves voice messages pertaining to any device within the process control system.

Claims

1. A wearable computer for use in a process control environment having a process control system including a plurality of process control devices disposed within the process, the wearable computer comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory;

an imaging device that produces an image signal;

an image processor that processes the image signal to identify one of the devices based on a device feature identified by the image signal;

a software routine stored in the memory which when executed on the processing unit provides process information generated by one or more of the plurality of process control devices during operation of the process;

an input device adapted to produce an input signal;

a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system; and

a further software routine run on the processing unit that processes the input signal to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and that communicates the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause a change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

2. The wearable computer of claim 1, further including a heads up display and a display unit coupled to the image processor that displays information pertaining to the identified device on the heads up display.

3. The wearable computer of claim 2, wherein the information is diagnostic information related to the identified device.

4. The wearable computer of claim 2, wherein the information is help information related to the identified device.

5. The wearable computer of claim 2, further including a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system and wherein the information is process information obtained from the identified device and sent to the wearable computer via the remote communication device.

6. The wearable computer of claim 1, wherein the imaging device is a video camera that produces a multi-frame image signal and wherein the image processor includes a frame grabber that grabs an image frame from the multi-frame image signal.

7. The wearable computer of claim 1, wherein the device feature includes an alpha-numeric character and wherein the image processor includes an optical character recognition routine that decodes the alpha-numeric character within the image signal to identify the device.

8. The wearable computer of claim 1, wherein the device feature is a device tag and wherein the image processor includes an optical character recognition routine that decodes the device tag within the image signal to identify the one of the multiple devices.

9. The wearable computer of claim 1, further including a microphone that produces a speech signal and a voice recognition unit coupled to the microphone that decodes the speech signal to produce a command signal.

10. The wearable computer of claim 1, further including a microphone that produces a speech signal and a memory that stores the speech signal as associated with the identified device.

11. The wearable computer of claim 1, further including a microphone that produces a speech signal and a remote communication device that sends the speech signal to a memory within the process control system for storage in and retrieval from a memory as associated with the identified device.

12. A device identification unit within a wearable computer having an input device that develops an input signal, a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system and an imaging device that produces an image signal, where the wearable computer is for use in a process control system including a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process, the device identification unit comprising:

a processor;

a memory; and

a software routine stored in the memory and executed on the processor to process the image signal to identify a device based on a device feature identified by the image signal, to provide process information generated by one or more of the plurality of process control devices during operation of the process, and to process the input signal so as to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and to communicate the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause the change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

13. The device identification unit of claim 12, wherein the wearable computer includes a heads up display and wherein the software routine displays information pertaining to the identified device on the heads up display.

14. The device identification unit of claim 13, wherein the wearable computer further includes a remote communication device that communicates with a process control system coupled to the identified device and wherein the information is process information obtained from the identified device and sent to the wearable computer via the remote communication device.

15. The device identification unit of claim 12, wherein the imaging device of the wearable computer is a video camera that produces a multi-frame image signal and further including a frame grabber that grabs one image frame from the multi-frame image signal as the image signal.

16. The device identification unit of claim 12, wherein the device feature includes an alpha-numeric character and further including an optical character recognition routine that decodes the alpha-numeric character within the image signal to identify the device.

17. The device identification unit of claim 12, wherein the device feature is a device tag and further including an optical character recognition routine that decodes the device tag within the image signal to identify the device.

18. The device identification unit of claim 12, wherein the wearable computer includes a microphone that produces a speech signal and further including a voice recognition unit coupled to the microphone that decodes the speech signal to produce a command.

19. A wearable computer system for use in testing a process control system including a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process and external to the wearable computer, the wearable computer comprising:

a processing unit;

a computer readable memory;

an input device adapted to produce an input signal;

a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system; and

a software routine run on the processing unit that processes the input signal to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and that communicates the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause a change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

20. The wearable computer of claim 19, further including a heads up display and wherein the software routine communicates with the process control system to obtain the actual value of the process signal and displays the actual value of the process signal via the heads up display.

21. The wearable computer of claim 19, further including a heads up display that displays an image and wherein the software routine produces a screen on the heads up display having a list of communication channels therein and enables the user to select one of the communication channels using the input device.

22. The wearable computer of claim 21, wherein the software routine displays the type of process signal on a selected communication channel via the heads up display.

23. The wearable computer of claim 21, wherein the software routine displays a valid range of the process signal on a selected communication channel via the heads up display.

24. The wearable computer of claim 21, wherein the software routine enables a user to enter the change signal for the process signal in a field on the heads up display.

25. A process control testing unit for use in a process control system including a plurality of process control devices disposed within the process and external to a wearable computer, where the process control testing unit communicates with the wearable computer having, an input device that develops an input signal, a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system and a heads up display, the process control testing unit comprising:

a processor;

a memory; and

a software routine stored on the memory and executed on the processor of the wearable computer to process the input signal so as to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and to communicate the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause the change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

26. The process control testing unit of claim 25, wherein the change signal indicates a change in a communication signal and causes the communication signal to be changed from a first value to a second value.

27. The process control testing unit of claim 25, wherein the software routine communicates with the process control system to obtain the actual value of the process signal and displays the actual value of the process signal via the heads up display.

28. The process control testing unit of claim 25, wherein the software routine displays a set of different process control signals for selection via the heads up display.

29. The process control testing unit of claim 25, wherein the software routine produces a screen on the heads up display having a list of communication channels therein and enables a user to select one of the communication channels using the input device.

30. The process control testing unit of claim 29, wherein the software routine displays the type of process signal on a selected communication channel via the heads up display.

31. The process control testing unit of claim 29, wherein the software routine displays a valid range of the process signal on a selected communication channel via the heads up display.

32. The process control testing unit of claim 29, wherein the software routine enables a user to enter the change signal for the process signal in a field on the heads up display.

33. An image viewing unit for use in a process control system including an operator workstation having an operator processing unit, an operator display and an operator remote communication device, and including a wearable computer having an input device that develops an input signal, a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system, an imaging device that produces a first image, a portable display, a wearable remote communication device and a wearable processing unit, and a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process and external to the wearable computer, the image viewing unit comprising:

a first computer readable memory having a first software routine stored therein, said first software routine capable of being implemented on the operator processing unit to perform the functions of;

receiving a second image from the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device, wherein the second image is derived from the first image;

displaying the second image on the operator display;

enabling an operator to make changes to the displayed second image to create a third image; and

sending the third image to the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device; and

a second computer readable memory having a second software routine stored therein, said second software routine capable of being implemented on the wearable processing unit to perform the functions of;

identifying a device based on a device feature identified by the first image;

creating the second image from the first image by making graphical changes to the first image;

sending the second image to the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device;

receiving the third image from the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device;

displaying the third image on the portable display; and

processing the input signal so as to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and to communicate the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause the change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

34. The image viewing unit of claim 33, wherein the first software routine sends the third image to the wearable computer by sending a base image to the wearable computer at a first time and by sending changes to the base image to the wearable computer at a second and later time.

35. The image viewing unit of claim 34, wherein the first software routine allows an operator to choose the base image before sending the base image to the wearable computer.

36. The image viewing unit of claim 33, wherein the second software routine enables a user of the wearable computer to make changes to the third image and sends the changes to the third image to the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device.

37. The image viewing unit of claim 33, wherein the second image is the first image.

38. A data storage/retrieval unit within a wearable computer for use in a process control system including a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process, the wearable computer having, a microphone that produces a voice signal, an input device that produces an input signal, a speaker and a heads up display, the data storage/retrieval unit comprising:

a processor;

a computer readable memory;

a first software routine stored on the computer readable memory and executed on the processor of the wearable computer that identifies a process control device based on a device feature captured by the input signal;

a second software routine stored on the computer readable memory and executed on the processor of the wearable computer that receives the voice signal from the microphone and stores the received voice signal as being linked to the identified process control device in a further memory associated with the wearable computer in response to a first user input to store the received voice signal;

a third software routine stored on the computer readable memory and executed on the processor of the wearable computer that provides an indication via the heads up display that a previously stored voice signal is available for the identified process control device when the previously stored voice signal exists for the identified process control device in the further memory and that plays the previously stored voice signal for the identified process control device on the speaker in response to a second user input selecting the previously stored voice signal for the identified process control device for retrieval; and

a fourth software routine stored on the computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on the processor of the wearable computer that provides process information generated by one or more of the plurality of process control devices during operation of the process.

39. The data storage/retrieval unit of claim 38, wherein the input signal is a video image and the first software routine includes an image processing routine that processes the video image to identify the process control device.

40. The data storage/retrieval unit of claim 39, wherein the image processing routine includes an optical character recognition routine that recognizes alpha-numeric characters within the video image and the image processing routine identifies the process control device based on the alpha-numeric characters.

41. The data storage/retrieval unit of claim 38, wherein the wearable computer includes a remote communication device that communicates with a process control system coupled to the identified process control device and the further memory is within the process control system, and further including a fourth software routine that communicates with the further memory via the remote communication device.

42. The data storage/retrieval unit of claim 38, wherein the third software routine displays an icon via the heads up display as the indication.

43. An image viewing system for use in a process control system including an operator workstation having an operator processing unit, an operator display and an operator remote communication device, and including a wearable computer having an input device that develops an input signal, a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system, an imaging device that produces a first image, a portable display, a wearable remote communication device and a wearable processing unit, and a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process and external to the wearable computer, the image viewing system comprising:

a first computer readable memory having a first software routine stored therein, said first software routine capable of being implemented on the operator processing unit to perform the functions of;

receiving a second image from the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device;

displaying the second image on the operator display;

enabling an operator to make changes to the displayed second image to create a third image; and

sending the third image to the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device; and

a second computer readable memory having a second software routine stored therein, said second software routine capable of being implemented on the wearable processing unit to perform the functions of;

identifying a device based on a device feature identified by the first image;

creating the second image from the first image by making graphical changes to the first image;

sending the second image to the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device;

receiving the third image from the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device;

displaying the third image on the portable display; and

processing the input signal so as to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and to communicate the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause the change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

44. The image viewing system of claim 43, wherein the graphical changes to the first image include changes in the form of movements of a pointer on the portable display.

45. The image viewing system of claim 43, wherein the first software routine sends the third image to the wearable computer by sending a base image to the wearable computer at a first time and by sending changes to the base image to the wearable computer at a second and later time.

46. An image viewing system for use in a process control system including an operator workstation having an operator processing unit, an operator display and an operator remote communication device, and including a wearable computer having an input device that develops an input signal, a remote communication device that communicates with the process control system, an imaging device that produces a first image, a portable display, a wearable remote communication device and a wearable processing unit, and a plurality of process control devices disposed within a process and external to the wearable computer, the image viewing system comprising:

a first computer readable memory having a first software routine stored therein, said first software routine capable of being implemented on the wearable processing unit to perform the functions of;

identifying a device based on a device feature identified by the first image;

receiving a second image from the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device;

displaying the second image on the portable display;

enabling a wearable computer user to make changes to the displayed second image to create a third image; and

sending the third image to the operator workstation via the wearable remote communication device; and

a second computer readable memory having a second software routine stored therein, said second software routine capable of being implemented on the operator processing unit to perform the functions of;

creating the second image from the first image by making graphical changes to the first image;

sending the second image to the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device;

receiving the third image from the wearable computer via the operator remote communication device;

displaying the third image on the operator display; and

processing the input signal so as to develop a change signal indicating a change to be made in a process signal within the process control system and to communicate the change signal to the process control system via the remote communication device to thereby cause the change to be made to the process signal, where the process signal indicates a characteristic of the process during normal operation of the process.

47. The image viewing system of claim 46, wherein the graphical changes to the first image include changes in the form of movements of a pointer on the operator display.

48. The image viewing system of claim 46, wherein the first software routine sends the third image to the operator workstation by sending a base image to the operator workstation at a first time and by sending changes to the base image to the operator workstation at a second and later time.