Flow computers having wireless communication protocol interfaces and related methods

• US 8,938,219 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Issued: 01/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bristol (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Bristol (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Parent, Jeffrey David, Vanderah, Richard Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Simon
• Application Number:
  US13/463,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20130295859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 455418-420, 4554141-4143, 455/507, 455/517, 455/557, 709/223
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0296 switching to a backup power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Flow computers having wireless communication protocol interfaces and related methods are disclosed. In one example, a method involves receiving a request to be sent to a wireless device in a network of wireless devices, the request to be received via a remote terminal unit application executed on a processor within a flow computer, and communicating the request to the wireless device via a communications interface module, the communications interface module to be communicatively coupled to the processor via a backplane contained within a housing of the flow computer, the backplane to provide communications according to a high speed data bus communications protocol.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a request to be sent to a wireless device in a network of wireless devices, the request to be received via a remote terminal unit application executed on a processor within a flow computer;

communicating the request to the wireless device via a communications interface module, the communications interface module to be communicatively coupled to the processor via a backplane contained within a housing of the flow computer, the backplane to provide communications according to a high speed data bus communications protocol;

preparing, via the communications interface module, request information corresponding to the request according to a wireless communication protocol implemented by the network of wireless devices, the request information to contain address data and command data;

providing the address and command data to a server application within the communications interface module, the server application to interpret the address data and the command data and communicate the request information to a network manager within the communications interface module; and

transmitting the request information to the wireless device, wherein the network manager controls a timing of the transmitting.

2. The method described in claim 1, wherein the request is received from at least one of a local application executed via the processor within the flow computer, an external application in communication with the flow computer, an external component in communication with the flow computer, or an operator via an operator interface of the flow computer.

3. The method described in claim 1, further comprising storing the request in a database associated with the remote terminal unit application.

4. The method described in claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving response data from the wireless device, the response data based on the request; and

storing the response data in a database associated with the remote terminal unit application.

5. The method described in claim 4, further comprising retrieving the response data by:

collecting the response data via a receiver;

preparing, via the communications interface module, the response data to be communicated to the remote terminal unit application via the backplane according to the high speed data bus communications protocol; and

sending the response data to the remote terminal unit application via the backplane.

6. The method described in claim 4, wherein the response data includes at least one of measurement data, diagnostics data, calibration data, or asset management data.

7. The method described in claim 1, wherein transmitting the request information comprises transmitting via a transmitter contained within the housing of the flow computer.

8. The method described in claim 1, wherein transmitting the request information comprises transmitting via a transmitter in communication with the flow computer via a cable configured according to the wireless communication protocol.

9. The method described in claim 1, further comprising at least one of receiving requests via a dedicated interface port in the communications interface module, installing updated applications via the dedicated interface port, or retrieving diagnostic logs via the dedicated interface port.

10. The method described in claim 1, further comprising generating a live list of the devices that are commissioned or non-commissioned within a supervisory control and data acquisition system.

11. The method described in claim 1, wherein the processor and the communications interface module are accessible via an operator interface on the flow computer.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a communications interface module to communicate with a network of one or more wireless devices according to a wireless communications protocol, the wireless devices corresponding to field devices in a supervisory control and data acquisition system, wherein the communications interface module has a module processor to execute;

a module application to receive requests from a remote terminal unit application and return response data via a backplane, the module application to convert the requests from a high speed data bus communications protocol to the wireless communications protocol and to convert the response data from the wireless communications protocol to the high speed data bus communications protocol;

a network manager to control timing of communications to the devices in the network; and

a server to interpret addresses and commands from the module application and to communicate the addresses and commands to the network manager;

a local processor of a flow computer associated with the supervisory control and data acquisition system to execute the remote terminal unit application, the local processor separate from the communications interface module, the remote terminal unit application to communicate with the devices in the network via the communications interface module; and

wherein the backplane is within the flow computer to communicatively couple the remote terminal unit application and the communications interface module according to the high speed data bus communications protocol.

13. The apparatus described in claim 12, further comprising a housing, the housing to contain the communications interface module, the local processor, and the backplane.

14. The apparatus described in claim 12, wherein the local processor and the communications interface module of the flow computer are to be powered via a solar power system.

15. The apparatus described in claim 12, wherein the module application is to at least one of retrieve the response data from the devices in the network, perform error checking, or perform system diagnostics.

16. The apparatus described in claim 12, wherein the communications interface module further comprises a universal serial bus port to at least one of enable high bandwidth application updates, enable high bandwidth retrieval of diagnostic logs, provide ones of the requests to be sent to the devices via the module application, or retrieve the response data via the module application.

17. The apparatus described in claim 12, wherein the remote terminal unit application comprises:

a remote terminal unit interface to interact with at least one of local applications on the local processor or external applications or components of the supervisory control and data acquisition system;

a database to store requests to be communicated to the devices in the network, to store response data provided by the devices based on the requests, and to provide the response data to the remote terminal unit interface; and

a master application to send the requests to the communications interface module via the backplane, to receive the response data from the communications interface module via the backplane, to validate the response data, and to send the response data to the database for storage.

18. A tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions, which when executed, cause a machine to at least:

receive a request to be sent to a wireless device in a network of wireless devices, the request to be received by a remote terminal unit application executed on a processor within a flow computer; and

communicate the request to the wireless device via a communications interface module, the communications interface module to be communicatively coupled to the processor via a backplane contained within a housing of the flow computer, the backplane to provide communications according to a high speed data bus communications protocol, wherein the request is communicated by preparing, via the communications interface module, request information corresponding to the request according to a wireless communication protocol implemented by the network of wireless devices, the request information to contain address data and command data, wherein the request is communicated by;

providing the address and command data to a server application within the communications interface module, the server application to interpret the address data and the command data and communicate the request information to a network manager within the communications interface module; and

transmitting the request information to the wireless device, wherein the network manager controls a timing of the transmitting.

19. The tangible article of manufacture as described in claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to:

retrieve response data from the wireless device, the response data based on the request; and

store at least one of the request or the response data in a database associated with the remote terminal unit application.

20. The tangible article of manufacture as described in claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to retrieve the response data by:

collecting the response data;

preparing, via the communications interface module, the response data to be communicated to the remote terminal unit application via the backplane according to the high speed data bus communications protocol; and

sending the response data to the remote terminal unit application via the backplane.

21. The tangible article of manufacture as described in claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to generate a live list of the wireless devices that are commissioned or non-commissioned within a supervisory control and data acquisition system.