Communications unit for an industrial process network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A field device configured to send and receive data over an industrial process network, the field device comprising:
- a processor; and
a communications unit communicatively connected to the industrial process network, the communications unit configured to send and receive the data over the industrial process network via a first communications protocol at a first data rate and connected to communicate with the processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate;
wherein the communications unit comprises;
a first receive buffer configured to store a first message object corresponding to a first message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network, the first message object including the first message and information corresponding to the first message; and
a second receive buffer configured to store a second message object corresponding to a second message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network, the second message object including the second message and information corresponding to the second message;
wherein the communications unit is configured to determine at least a portion of the information corresponding to the first message and at least a portion of the information corresponding to the second message; and
wherein the communications unit is configured to insert the determined portion of the information corresponding to the first message in the first message object and the determined portion of the information corresponding to the second message in the second message object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A field device is configured to send and receive data over an industrial process network. The field device includes a processor and a communications unit communicatively connected to the industrial process network. The communications unit is configured to send and receive the data over the industrial process network via a first communications protocol at a first data rate. The communications unit is connected to communicate with the processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate.
23 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A field device configured to send and receive data over an industrial process network, the field device comprising:
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a processor; and a communications unit communicatively connected to the industrial process network, the communications unit configured to send and receive the data over the industrial process network via a first communications protocol at a first data rate and connected to communicate with the processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate; wherein the communications unit comprises; a first receive buffer configured to store a first message object corresponding to a first message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network, the first message object including the first message and information corresponding to the first message; and a second receive buffer configured to store a second message object corresponding to a second message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network, the second message object including the second message and information corresponding to the second message; wherein the communications unit is configured to determine at least a portion of the information corresponding to the first message and at least a portion of the information corresponding to the second message; and wherein the communications unit is configured to insert the determined portion of the information corresponding to the first message in the first message object and the determined portion of the information corresponding to the second message in the second message object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A communications unit configured to send and receive data over an industrial process network, the communications unit comprising:
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a first communications interface configured to send and receive the data over the industrial process network via a first communications protocol at a first data rate; a second communications interface configured to communicate with a processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate; a first receive buffer configured to store a first message object corresponding to a first message received over the industrial process network; and a second receive buffer configured to store a second message object corresponding to a second message received over the industrial process network; wherein the communications unit is configured to connect with the processor via an interrupt terminal; and wherein the communications unit is configured to output a message-received notification to the processor via the interrupt terminal in response to receiving a complete message over the industrial process network, the message-received notification configured to cause the processor to retrieve at least one of the first and second message objects via the second communications interface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of sending and receiving data over an industrial process network, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a communications unit of a field device, a first message via a first communications protocol at a first data rate; storing, by the communications unit, the first message in a first receive buffer of the communications unit; determining, by the communications unit, that the first message comprises a complete message according to the first communications protocol; notifying, by the communications unit in response to determining that the first message comprises a complete message, a processor of the field device that the first message has been received; sending, by the communications unit, the first message to the processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate receiving, by the communications unit, at least a portion of a second message via the first communications protocol prior to sending the first message to the processor via the second communications protocol; and storing, by the communications unit, the second message in a second receive buffer of the communications unit. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A field device configured to send and receive data over an industrial process network, the field device comprising:
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a processor; and a communications unit communicatively connected to the industrial process network, the communications unit configured to send and receive the data over the industrial process network via a first communications protocol at a first data rate and connected to communicate with the processor via a second communications protocol at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate; wherein the communications unit comprises; a first receive buffer configured to store a first message object corresponding to a first message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network; and a second receive buffer configured to store a second message object corresponding to a second message received by the communications unit over the industrial process network; wherein the communications unit is configured to output a message-received notification to the processor in response to receiving a complete message over the industrial process network, the message-received notification configured to cause the processor to invoke an interrupt service routine to retrieve at least one of the first and second message objects from the communications unit via the second communications protocol; and wherein the communications unit is configured to store the second message in the second message buffer in response to determining that the message-received notification has not been acknowledged by the processor.
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Specification