Process measurement instrument adapted for wireless communication
First Claim
1. A process measurement instrument configured for wireless communication, comprising:
- a measurement unit configured to determine a measurement value of a filling level of a product in a tank,said measurement unit having an operation comprising active time periods and inactive time periods, said active time periods having higher power consumption than said inactive time periods,a memory configured to store a current measurement value of said filling level,a wireless communication unit, configured to access said current measurement value and communicate said current measurement value over a wireless communication channel according to a communication protocol,wherein said communication protocol is a time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, and relies on specific timing controlled externally of said process measurement instrument, wherein said wireless communication unit has active periods during TDMA communication slots allocated by said communication protocol, and inactive periods between said active periods, andarbitration logic, in communication with said measurement unit and said wireless communication unit,wherein said arbitration logic controls the active periods of the measurement unit to occur between active periods of said wireless communication unit for avoiding power consumption spikes and interference in said process measurement instrument.
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Abstract
A process measurement instrument adapted for wireless communication, comprising a measurement unit (7) arranged to determine a measurement value of a process variable, a memory (21) arranged to store a current measurement value of the process variable, a wireless communication unit (8), arranged to access the current measurement value and communicate the current measurement value over a wireless communication channel according to a protocol with intermittently active communication, and arbitration logic (22), in communication with the measurement unit and the wireless communication unit, and arranged to ensure that active periods of the measurement unit occur when the wireless communication is inactive.
The measurement unit and communication unit are thus able to share information via the common memory, e.g. by sequential read/write access. This avoids the need for simultaneous activity. The invention can be especially advantageous when the instrument is powered by an internal power store, such as a battery, and extend the lifetime of such a power store.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A process measurement instrument configured for wireless communication, comprising:
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a measurement unit configured to determine a measurement value of a filling level of a product in a tank, said measurement unit having an operation comprising active time periods and inactive time periods, said active time periods having higher power consumption than said inactive time periods, a memory configured to store a current measurement value of said filling level, a wireless communication unit, configured to access said current measurement value and communicate said current measurement value over a wireless communication channel according to a communication protocol, wherein said communication protocol is a time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, and relies on specific timing controlled externally of said process measurement instrument, wherein said wireless communication unit has active periods during TDMA communication slots allocated by said communication protocol, and inactive periods between said active periods, and arbitration logic, in communication with said measurement unit and said wireless communication unit, wherein said arbitration logic controls the active periods of the measurement unit to occur between active periods of said wireless communication unit for avoiding power consumption spikes and interference in said process measurement instrument. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for communicating a measurement value of a filling level of a tank from a measurement unit configured to transmit electromagnetic signals, receive a reflected signal from said tank, and determine said measurement value based on a relationship between a transmitted signal and a received signal, said measurement unit having an operation comprising active time periods and inactive time periods said active time periods having higher power consumption than said inactive time periods, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing a current measurement value of said filling level, accessing a stored current measurement value, communicating said current measurement value by means of a communication unit over a wireless communication channel according to a communication protocol with intermittently active communication, wherein said communication protocol is a time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol and relies on specific timing controlled externally of said process measurement instrument, wherein said wireless communication unit has active periods during TDMA communication slots allocated by said communication protocol, and inactive periods between said active periods, and controlling the active periods of the measurement unit to occur between said active periods of said wireless communication unit for avoiding power consumption spikes and interference in said process measurement instrument. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification