Advanced transmitter isolation feature

• US 7,786,878 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2007
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Sharma, Thirumala G B
• Primary Examiner(s): La; Anh V
• Application Number:
  US11/657,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20080177484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,315 Days
• Field of Search: 340/626, 340/618, 340/614, 340/605, 340/603, 340/610, 137/551, 137/557, 702/45, 702/47, 702/183
• US Class Current: 340/626
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/34 by measuring pressure or differential pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/50 Correcting or compensating means
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/10 of flowmeters

Abstract

A signal representative of a pressure is received from an industrial transmitter. An isolation indicator signal may be obtained by control signals from an isolation valve assembly or by signals from a DCS to indicate that isolation has occurred.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first module configured to receive a first signal representative of a pressure of a fluid on a pipeline side of a valve positioned adjacent to a pipeline;

a second module configured to receive a second signal representative of a pressure of the fluid on a non-pipeline side of the valve;

a third module to determine a difference between the first signal and the second signal; and

a fourth module to determine an isolation of an industrial transmitter positioned on the non-pipeline side of the valve as a function of the difference between the first pressure and the second pressure.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the industrial transmitter is adapted to sense one or more parameters of the group comprising temperature and pressure.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the pressure comprises one or more of absolute, gauge, and differential.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the module is further configured to store the one or more parameters in a memory.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first signal is representative of a healthiness value associated with a separate device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the healthiness value comprises one or more of voltage level, current level, time duration and pressure differential.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the module is further configured to trigger an alarm as a function of the isolation.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the module is configured to communicate the alarm to a microprocessor system.

9. A method of diagnosing an industrial transmitter coupled to a process fluid, the method comprising:

receiving at a processor a first signal representative of a first pressure of a fluid on a pipeline side of a valve positioned adjacent to a pipeline;

receiving at the processor a second signal representative of a second pressure of a fluid on a non-pipeline side of the valve;

using the processor to calculate a pressure difference as a function of the first and second signals; and

determining an isolation of an industrial transmitter positioned on the non-pipeline side of the valve as a function of the difference between the first pressure and the second pressure.

10. The method of claim 9, further includes receiving a third signal representative of a valve closure event.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the third signal includes a time duration as a function of the valve closure.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the first signal representative of a first pressure comprises one or more of absolute, gauge, and differential.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the calculating a pressure difference includes one or more of the first signal representative of a first pressure, the second signal representative of a second pressure, and an elapsed time.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the calculating occurs at the industrial transmitter.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the calculating occurs remotely at a central microprocessing system.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining if the industrial transmitter is isolated from the fluid includes reaching a healthiness value associated with a separate device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising triggering an alarm as a function of the determining if the industrial transmitter is isolated from the fluid.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising communicating the alarm to a microprocessor system.

19. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving a first signal includes storing one or more parameters of the group comprising temperature and pressure in a memory.