CN115480549A

CN115480549A - Apparatus and method to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system

Info

Publication number: CN115480549A
Application number: CN202211225555.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: K·埃尔尼; G·K·劳; D·E·布鲁姆; K·A·布尔; M·J·尼克松
Original assignee: Fisher Rosemount Systems Inc
Current assignee: Fisher Rosemount Systems Inc
Priority date: 2015-01-08
Filing date: 2016-01-07
Publication date: 2022-12-16
Also published as: JP2016129025A; DE102016000234A1; DE102016000234B4; GB201522802D0; GB2535839B; GB2535839A; JP2021119496A; CN105785853A; JP2023159305A; DE202016008495U1; JP7078310B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system. A disclosed example apparatus includes a first interface communicatively coupled to one of a first field device or a second field device. The first interface communicates using a first fieldbus communication protocol when coupled to a first field device and communicates using a second fieldbus communication protocol when coupled to a second field device. An example apparatus includes a communication processor to encode first information received from the one of the first or second field devices for communication via a bus using a third communication protocol. The example apparatus includes a second interface communicatively coupled to the communication processor and the bus to communicate first information to a controller in the process control system. The bus communicates second information received from the other of the first field device or the second field device using a third communication protocol.

Description

Apparatus and method to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system

The present application is a divisional application of the patent application having application number 201610009263.8 entitled "apparatus and method for communicatively coupling a field device to a controller in a process control system," filed on 7/1/2016.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to process control systems and, more particularly, to apparatus and methods to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system.

Background

Process control systems, such as those used in chemical, petroleum, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, or other manufacturing processes, typically include one or more process controllers communicatively coupled to at least one host including at least one operator workstation and to one or more field devices configured to communicate via analog, digital, or combined analog/digital communication protocols. The field devices, which may be, for example, device controllers, valves, valve actuators, valve positioners, switches and transmitters (e.g., temperature, pressure, flow rate and chemical composition sensors), perform functions within the process control system such as opening or closing valves and measuring or inferring process parameters. The process controllers receive signals indicative of process measurements made by the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices, use this information to implement control routines and generate control signals that are sent over the buses or other communication lines to the field devices to control the operation of the process control system.

Process control systems may include a plurality of field devices that provide several different functional capabilities and are often coupled to a process controller using a point-to-point two-wire interface (e.g., one field device communicatively coupled to a field device bus) or a multi-drop (e.g., a plurality of field devices communicatively coupled to a field device bus) wired arrangement or communicatively coupled via wireless communication. Some field devices are configured to operate using relatively simple commands and/or communications (e.g., ON and OFF commands). Other field devices are more complex, require more commands and/or more communication information, which may or may not include simple commands. For example, more complex field devices may communicate analog values using digital communications superimposed on the analog values using, for example, the highway addressable remote transducer ("HART") communication protocol. Other field devices may use all-digital communications (e.g., the FOUNDATION fieldbus communication protocol).

In a process control system, each field device is typically coupled to a process controller via one or more I/O cards and a corresponding communication medium (e.g., a two-wire cable, a wireless link, or an optical fiber). Thus, multiple communication media are required to communicatively couple multiple field devices to a process controller. The plurality of communication media coupled to the field devices are often routed through one or more field junction boxes, at which point the plurality of communication media are coupled to respective communication media (e.g., respective two-wire conductors) of a multi-wire cable used to communicatively couple the field devices to the process controller via one or more I/O cards.

Disclosure of Invention

Example apparatus and methods to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system are described. According to an example, an example apparatus includes a base and a module movably attached to the base. The base includes a first physical interface communicatively coupled to one of a first field device in the process control system or a second field device in the process control system and a second physical interface communicatively coupled to a controller in the process control system via a bus. When the first physical interface is communicatively coupled to the first field device, the module communicates with the first field device using a first communication protocol. When the first physical interface is communicatively coupled to a second field device, the module communicates with the second field device using a second communication protocol. The modules communicate with the controller via a bus using a third communication protocol. The third communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol.

According to another example, an example method includes receiving first information at a base having a first physical interface communicatively coupled to one of a first field device in a process control system or a second field device in the process control system. The example method also includes encoding, at a module removably attached to the base, first information for communication using a first communication protocol. When the first physical interface is coupled to the first field device, first information is communicated from the first field device to the module using the second communication protocol. When the first physical interface is coupled to a second field device, first information is communicated from the second field device to the module using a third communication protocol. The third communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol. The method also includes communicating the encoded first information from the module to the controller via a bus using the first communication protocol via a second physical interface of the base.

According to yet another example, an example apparatus includes a first interface communicatively coupled to one of a first field device in a process control system or a second field device in the process control system. The first interface communicates using a first fieldbus communication protocol when coupled to a first field device and communicates using a second fieldbus communication protocol when coupled to a second field device. An example apparatus includes a communication processor communicatively coupled to a first interface. The communication processor encodes first information received from one of the first field device or the second field device for communication via the bus using a third communication protocol different from the first fieldbus communication protocol and the second fieldbus communication protocol. The example apparatus includes a second interface communicatively coupled to the communication processor and the bus to communicate the first information to a controller in the process control system via the bus using a third communication protocol. The bus communicates second information received from the other of the first field device or the second field device using a third communication protocol.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example process control system.

FIGS. 1B-1D illustrate alternative exemplary embodiments that may be used to communicatively couple a workstation, a controller, and an I/O card.

Fig. 2 is a detailed illustration of the exemplary marshalling cabinet of fig. 1A.

FIG. 3 is another exemplary marshalling cabinet that may be used to implement the exemplary marshalling cabinet of FIG. 1A.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of the exemplary termination module of fig. 1A and 2, and fig. 5 shows a side view of the exemplary termination module of fig. 1A and 2.

Fig. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the exemplary termination module of fig. 1A, 2, 4, 5, 13A-B, and 14A-B.

FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of the exemplary I/O card of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 8 is a detailed block diagram of an example tag associated with the termination module of FIGS. 1A, 2-6, 13A-B, and 14A-B that may be used to display field device identification information and/or any other field device information.

Fig. 9 illustrates an isolation circuit configuration that may be implemented in connection with the example termination module of fig. 1A to electrically isolate the termination modules from each other, from field devices, and from the communication bus.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a flow chart of an example method that may be used to implement the termination modules of FIGS. 1A, 2-6, 13A-B, and 14A-B to communicate information between a field device and an I/O card.

11A and 11B illustrate a flow chart of an exemplary method that may be used to implement the I/O card of FIG. 1A to communicate information between a termination module and a workstation.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an example method that may be used to implement the tags of FIGS. 2, 3, 6, and 8 to retrieve and display information associated with a field device communicatively coupled to a termination module.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are block diagrams illustrating another example process control system before and after implementing the teachings disclosed herein with respect to an example Profibus PA process area and an example FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 (FF-H1) process area.

Fig. 14A and 14B illustrate alternative exemplary embodiments of peer-to-peer communication of two FF-H1 compliant field devices communicatively coupled to corresponding termination modules.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of an example method that may be used to implement the termination modules of FIGS. 1A, 2-6, 13A-B, and 14A-B to automatically detect a communication protocol associated with a corresponding field device connected to the termination module.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an example processor system that may be used to implement the example systems and methods described herein.

Detailed Description

Although the following describes example apparatus and systems including, among other components, software and/or firmware executed on hardware, it should be noted that such systems are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of these hardware, software, and firmware components could be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, or in any combination of hardware and software. Thus, while the following describes example apparatus and systems, persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the examples provided are not the only way to implement such apparatus and systems.

An example process control system includes a control room (e.g., control room 108 of fig. 1A), a process controller area (e.g., process controller area 110 of fig. 1A), a termination area (e.g., termination area 140 of fig. 1A), and one or more process areas (e.g.,

process areas

114 and 118 of fig. 1A). The process area includes a plurality of field devices that perform operations (e.g., control valves, control motors, control boilers, monitor, measure parameters, etc.) associated with performing a particular process (e.g., a chemical process, an oil refinery process, a pharmaceutical process, a pulp and paper process, etc.). Some process areas are inaccessible to humans due to harsh environmental conditions (e.g., relatively high temperatures, airborne toxins, unsafe radiation levels, etc.). The control room typically includes one or more workstations in an environment that can be safely accessed by a person. The workstations include user applications that users (e.g., engineers, operators, etc.) may access to control the operation of the process control system, for example, by changing variable values, process control functions, etc. The process control area includes one or more controllers communicatively coupled to workstations in the control room. The controller automates control of the field devices in the process area by executing process control strategies implemented via the workstation. An example process strategy includes measuring pressure using a pressure sensor field device and automatically sending a command to a valve positioner to open or close a flow valve based on the pressure measurement. The termination area includes marshalling cabinets that enable the controllers to communicate with field devices in the process area. In particular, the marshalling cabinet includes a plurality of termination modules for marshalling, organizing, or routing signals from the field devices to one or more I/O cards communicatively coupled to the controller. The I/O card converts information received from the field devices to a format compatible with the controller and converts information from the controller to a format compatible with the field devices.

Known techniques for communicatively coupling field devices within a process control system to controllers include using separate buses (e.g., wires, cables, or circuits) between each field device and a corresponding I/O card communicatively coupled to the controller (e.g., a process controller, a programmable logic controller, etc.). The I/O cards communicatively couple the controller to a plurality of field devices associated with different data or signal types (e.g., analog Input (AI) data types, analog Output (AO) data types, discrete Input (DI) data types, discrete Output (DO) data types, digital input data types, and digital output data types) and different field device communication protocols by converting or transforming information communicated between the controller and the field devices. For example, the I/O card may be provided with one or more field device interfaces configured to exchange information with a field device using a field device communication protocol associated with the field device. Different field device interfaces communicate via different channel types (e.g., analog Input (AI) channel type, analog Output (AO) channel type, discrete Input (DI) channel type, discrete Output (DO) channel type, digital input channel type, and digital output channel type). Additionally, the I/O card may transform information (e.g., voltage levels) received from the field device into information (e.g., pressure measurements) that the controller can use to perform operations associated with controlling the field device. Known techniques require a bundle of wires or buses (e.g., multi-core cables) to communicatively couple multiple field devices to an I/O card. Unlike known techniques that use separate buses to communicatively couple each field device to an I/O card, the example apparatus and methods described herein may be used to communicatively couple field devices to an I/O card by terminating a plurality of field devices at a termination panel (e.g., a marshalling cabinet) and using one bus (e.g., a conductive communication medium, an optical communication medium, a wireless communication medium) communicatively coupled between the termination panel and the I/O card to communicatively couple the field devices to the I/O card.

The example apparatus and methods described herein include using an example general purpose I/O bus (e.g., a common or shared communications bus) that communicatively couples one or more termination modules to one or more I/O cards communicatively coupled to a controller. Each termination module is communicatively coupled to one or more respective field devices using a respective field device bus (e.g., an analog bus or a digital bus). The termination module is configured to: the field device information is received from the field device via the field device bus and transmitted to the I/O card via the universal I/O bus by, for example, packaging the field device information and transmitting the packaged information to the I/O card via the universal I/O bus. The field device information may include, for example, field device identification information (e.g., device tags, electronic serial numbers, etc.), field device condition information (e.g., communication conditions, diagnostic health information (open loop, short circuit, etc.)), field device activity information (e.g., process Variable (PV) values), field device description information (e.g., field device type or function, such as valve actuator, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, flow sensor, etc.), field device connection configuration information (e.g., multi-drop bus connection, point-to-point connection, etc.), field device bus or segment identification information (e.g., field device bus or field device segment via which the field device is communicatively coupled to the termination module), and/or field device data type information (e.g., data type descriptors representing the type of data used by a particular field device). The I/O card may extract field device information received via the general purpose I/O bus and communicate the field device information to the controller, which may then communicate some or all of the information to one or more workstation terminals for subsequent analysis.

To communicate field device information (e.g., commands, instructions, queries, threshold activity values (e.g., threshold PV values), etc.) from the workstation terminal to the field device, the I/O card may package the field device information and communicate the packaged field device information to the plurality of termination modules. Each of the termination modules may then extract or unpack the corresponding field device information from the packed communications received from the corresponding I/O card and communicate the field device information to the corresponding field device.

In the illustrated examples described herein, a termination panel (e.g., a marshalling cabinet) is configured to receive (e.g., connect to) a plurality of termination modules, each of which is communicatively coupled to a different field device. In order to indicate at the termination modules which termination modules are connected to which field devices, a termination tag (or tagging system) is provided for each termination module. The termination tagger includes an electronic display (e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)) and components to determine which field device or devices are connected to the termination module corresponding to the termination tagger. In some exemplary embodiments, the display is mounted on the termination panel in place of the termination module. Each of the displays is mounted in association with a respective termination module receptacle. In this manner, upon removal of the termination module from the termination panel, the corresponding display remains on the termination panel for use by a subsequently connected termination module.

Turning now to FIG. 1A, the example process control system 100 includes a workstation 102, the workstation 102 communicatively coupled to a controller 104 via a bus or Local Area Network (LAN) 106, the LAN 106 generally referred to as an Application Control Network (ACN). The LAN 106 may be implemented using any desired communication medium and protocol. For example, the LAN 106 may be based on a hardwired or wireless Ethernet communication protocol. Any other suitable wired or wireless communication medium and protocol may be used. The workstation 102 may be configured to perform operations associated with one or more information technology applications, user interaction applications, and/or communication applications. For example, the workstation 102 may be configured to perform operations associated with applications related to process control and communication applications that enable the workstation 102 and the controller 104 to communicate with other devices or systems using any desired communication media (e.g., wireless, hardwired, etc.) and protocols (e.g., HTTP, SOAP, etc.). The controller 104 may be configured to execute one or more process control routines or functions that are generated by a system engineer or other system operator using, for example, the workstation 102 or any other workstation, downloaded to the controller 104, and instantiated in the controller 104. In the example shown, the workstation 102 is located in a control room 108 and the controller 104 is located in a process controller area 110 that is separate from the control room 108.

In the illustrated example, the example process control system 100 includes field devices 112a-c in a first process zone 114 and field devices 116a-c in a second process control zone 118. To communicate information between the controller 104 and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c, the example process control system 100 is provided with Field Junction Boxes (FJB) 120a-b and marshalling cabinets 122. Each of the field junction boxes 120a-b routes signals from a respective one of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c to the marshalling cabinet 122. The marshalling cabinet 122, in turn, marshals (e.g., organizes, packages, etc.) the information received from the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c and routes the field device information to the corresponding I/O cards (e.g., I/O cards 132a-b and 134 a-b) of the controller 104. In the illustrated example, communication between the controller 104 and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c is bi-directional, such that the marshalling cabinet 122 is also used to route information received from the I/O card of the controller 104 to respective ones of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c via the field junction boxes 120a-b.

In the illustrated example, the field devices 112a-c are communicatively coupled to the field junction box 120a and the field devices 116a-c are communicatively coupled to the field junction box 120b via electrically conductive, wireless, and/or optical communication media. For example, the field junction boxes 120a-b may be provided with one or more electrical, wireless, and/or optical data transceivers to communicate with the electrical, wireless, and/or optical data transceivers of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. In the example shown, the field junction box 120b is communicatively coupled wirelessly to the field device 116c. In an alternative example embodiment, the marshalling cabinet 122 may be omitted and signals from the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c may be routed directly from the field junction boxes 120a-b to the I/O cards of the controller 104. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the field junction boxes 120a-b may be omitted and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c may be directly connected to the marshalling cabinet 122.

The field devices 112a-c and 116a-c may be fieldbus compliant valves, actuators, sensors, etc., in which case the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c communicate via a digital data bus using the well-known FOUNDATION fieldbus communication protocol (e.g., FF-H1). Of course, other types of field devices and communication protocols may alternatively be used. For example, the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c could alternatively be Profibus (e.g., profibus PA), HART, or AS-i compliant devices that communicate via a data bus using the well-known Profibus and HART communication protocols. In some example embodiments, the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c may communicate information using analog communications or discrete communications rather than digital communications. Additionally, communication protocols may be used to communicate information associated with different data types.

Each of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c is configured to store field device identification information. The field device identification information may be a Physical Device Tag (PDT) value, a device tag name, an electronic serial number, etc., that uniquely identifies each of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1A, the field devices 112a-c store field device identification information in the form of physical device tag values PDT0-PDT2, and the field devices 116a-c store field device identification information in the form of physical device tag values PDT3-PDT 5. The field device identification information may be stored or programmed into the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c by the field device manufacturer and/or by an operator or engineer involved in the installation of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c.

To route information associated with the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c within the marshalling cabinet 122, a plurality of termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c are provided for the marshalling cabinet 122. The termination modules 124a-c are configured to group information associated with the field devices 112a-c in the first process zone 114 and the termination modules 126a-c are configured to group information associated with the field devices 116a-c in the second process zone 118. As shown, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c are communicatively coupled to the field junction boxes 120a-b via respective

multi-conductor cables

128a and 128b (e.g., multi-bus cables). In an alternative exemplary embodiment, in which the marshalling cabinet 122 is omitted, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c may be installed in respective ones of the field junction boxes 120a-b.

The illustrated example of FIG. 1A illustrates a point-to-point architecture in which each of the wires or wire pairs (e.g., bus, twisted pair communication medium, two-wire communication medium, etc.) in the multi-core cables 128a-b communicates information uniquely associated with a respective one of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. For example, the multi-conductor cable 128a includes a first conductor 130a, a second conductor 130b, and a third conductor 130c. Specifically, the first conductor 130a is used to form a first data bus configured to communicate information between the termination module 124a and the field device 112a, the second conductor 130b is used to form a second data bus configured to communicate information between the termination module 124b and the field device 112b, and the third conductor 130c is used to form a third data bus configured to communicate information between the termination module 124c and the field device 112 c. In an alternative exemplary embodiment using a multi-drop wiring structure, each of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c is communicatively coupled to one or more field devices. For example, in a multi-drop configuration, the termination module 124a may be communicatively coupled to the field device 112a and another field device (not shown) via the first conductor 130 a. In some example embodiments, the termination module may be configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality of field devices using a wireless mesh network.

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, a second field device (not shown) is communicatively coupled to the termination module 124a via the first conductor 130a as a redundant, backup, or replacement field device in addition to the field device 112a. In some such examples, the termination module 124a is configured to communicate exclusively with the field device 112a until communication with a backup device is required (e.g., when the operator configures the backup device to replace the field device 112a when the field device 112a fails). That is, while there are two devices communicatively coupled to the termination module 124a via the first conductor 130a, unlike the multi-drop configuration, the communication between the termination module 124a and the field device 112a or a backup field device actually operates as a point-to-point connection. In particular, while the termination module 124a can detect a backup field device, all communications will be directed to the primary or active device (e.g., the field device 112 a) until the active device fails, at which point communications (either automatically or initiated by process control personnel) will begin with the backup field device. In some examples, while the failed field device 112a is still in the process control system (e.g., prior to being physically removed and/or deleted from the logical structure of the system), the standby field device is enabled (communi-cation) and begins communicating with the termination module 124a. In some such examples, the spare field device retains the "spare" name until the plant personnel designates the spare field device as the new primary device. In other examples, the termination module 124a automatically swaps the field device 112a with a spare field device upon failure of the field device 112a. The ability to configure a standby field device to take over communication in this manner is typically not available for a particular communication protocol (e.g., HART) because a single field device is communicatively coupled directly into the I/O card in a point-to-point manner. As a result, replacement of a failed field device typically includes physical removal of the field device, installation of a new field device, and subsequent manual activation of the new field device. In some disclosed examples, however, as explained more fully below, when implemented using the HART protocol for a much faster alternative, the field device 112a is indirectly connected to the I/O card through the termination module 124a over a universal high speed I/O bus having sufficient bandwidth to manage the presence of a separate standby field device on the first conductor 130 a. In addition to or in lieu of HART, the standby field devices on the first wire 130a may also be implemented with other communication protocols (e.g., profibus PA, FF-H1, etc.).

Each of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c can be configured to communicate with a respective one of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c using a different data type. For example, the termination module 124a can include a digital field device interface to communicate with the field device 112a using digital data, while the termination module 124b can include an analog field device interface to communicate with the field device 112b using analog data.

To control I/O communications between the controller 104 (and/or the workstation 102) and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c, a plurality of I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b are provided for the controller 104. In the illustrated example, the I/O cards 132a-b are configured to control I/O communications between the controller 104 (and/or the workstation 102) and the field devices 112a-c in the first process zone 114, and the I/O cards 134a-b are configured to control I/O communications between the controller 104 (and/or the workstation 102) and the field devices 116a-c in the second process zone 118.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1A, I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b are located in controller 104. To communicate information from the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c to the workstation 102, the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b communicate information to the controller 104, and the controller 104 communicates information to the workstation 102. Similarly, to communicate information from the workstation 102 to the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c, the workstation 102 communicates the information to the controller 104, the controller 104 then communicates the information to the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, and the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b communicate the information to the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c via the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c. In alternative exemplary embodiments, the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b may be communicatively coupled to the LAN 106 inside the controller 104 such that the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b may communicate directly with the workstation 102 and/or the controller 104.

To provide fault tolerant operation in the event that either of I/

O cards

132a and 134a fails, I/

O cards

132b and 134b are configured as redundant I/O cards. That is, if I/O card 132a fails, redundant I/O card 132b assumes control and performs the same operations as I/O card 132a would otherwise perform. Similarly, when I/O card 134a fails, redundant I/O card 134b assumes control.

To enable communication between the termination modules 124a-c and the I/O cards 132a-b and between the termination modules 126a-c and the I/O cards 134a-b, the termination modules 124a-c are communicatively coupled to the I/O cards 132a-b via a first general purpose I/O bus 136a and the termination modules 126a-c are communicatively coupled to the I/O cards 134a-b via a second general purpose I/O bus 136 b. Unlike the

multi-core cables

128a and 128b, each of the universal I/O buses 136a-b is configured to transmit information corresponding to multiple field devices (e.g., the field devices 112a-c and 116 a-c) using the same communication medium when a separate wire or communication medium is used for each of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. For example, the communication medium may be a serial bus, a two-wire communication medium (e.g., twisted pair), an optical fiber, a parallel bus, etc., over which information associated with two or more field devices may be communicated using, for example, a packet-based communication technique, a multiplexed communication technique, etc.

In the exemplary embodiment, the general purpose I/O buses 136a-b are implemented using the RS-485 serial communication standard. The RS-485 serial communication standard may be configured to use less communication control overhead (e.g., less header information) than other known communication standards (e.g., ethernet). In other exemplary embodiments, however, the universal I/O buses 136a-b may be implemented using any other suitable communication standard, including ethernet, universal Serial Bus (USB), IEEE 1394, etc. In addition, although general purpose I/O buses 136a-b have been described above as a wired communications medium, in other exemplary embodiments, A wireless communication medium (e.g., wireless Ethernet, IEEE-802.11,

Etc.) implement one or both of the general purpose I/O buses 136a-b.

General purpose I/

O buses

136a and 136b are used to transfer information in substantially the same manner. In the illustrated example, I/O bus 136a is configured to communicate information between I/O cards 132a-b and termination modules 124a-c. The I/O cards 132a-b and termination modules 124a-c use an addressing scheme to enable the I/O cards 132a-b to identify which information corresponds to which of the termination modules 124a-c and to enable each of the termination modules 124a-c to determine which information corresponds to which of the field devices 112 a-c. When a termination module (e.g., one of termination modules 124a-c and 126 a-c) is connected to one of I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, the I/O card automatically obtains the address of the termination module (e.g., from the termination module) to exchange information with the termination module. In this manner, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c may be communicatively coupled anywhere on the respective buses 136a-b without having to manually provide the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b with termination module addresses and without having to individually wire each of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c to the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b.

By using the universal I/O buses 136a-b, the amount of communication media (e.g., wires) required to communicate information between the marshalling cabinet 122 and the controller 104 is substantially reduced relative to known configurations that require a separate communication media for each termination module to communicate with the controller. Reducing the amount of communication media required to communicatively couple the marshalling cabinet 122 to the controller 104 (e.g., reducing the number of communication buses or communication wires) reduces the engineering costs required to design and generate the mapping to install connections between the controller 104 and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. In addition, reducing the number of communication media in turn reduces installation costs and maintenance costs. For example, one of the I/O buses 136a-b replaces many of the communication media used in known systems to communicatively couple field devices to controllers. Thus, instead of maintaining multiple communication media for communicatively coupling the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c to the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, the illustrated example of FIG. 1A requires substantially less maintenance through the use of the I/O buses 136a-b. Moreover, in the context of Fieldbus-based field devices (e.g., profibus PA compliant devices or FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 (FF-H1) compliant devices), the use of the universal I/O bus 136a-b also reduces or eliminates the costs associated with acquiring, installing, and maintaining other components for implementing the associated Fieldbus architecture. For example, each of the Profibus PA and FF-H1 typically requires a protocol-specific I/O card, a power regulator (for FF-H1) or DP/PA coupler (for Profibus PA), and a segment protector in addition to the cable used for the trunk or segment of the Fieldbus architecture. Such components are not required where the fieldbus devices coupled to termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c communicate with the controller via a universal I/O bus 136a-b. Moreover, in some examples, where each Fieldbus device is connected to a corresponding termination module 124a-c or 126a-c in a point-to-point architecture, the cost and complexity of Fieldbus segment design work is significantly reduced or eliminated, as the groupings of device signals are processed electronically after being received by each corresponding termination module.

In addition, reducing the amount of communication media required to communicatively couple marshalling cabinet 122 to I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b results in more available space for more termination modules (e.g., termination modules 124a-c or 126 a-c), thereby increasing the I/O density of marshalling cabinet 122 relative to known systems. In the illustrated example of fig. 1A, marshalling cabinet 122 may have multiple termination modules, otherwise more marshalling cabinets (e.g., three marshalling cabinets) would be required in known system implementations. Also, in some examples, the marshalling cabinet 122 may have a greater number of termination modules 124a-c corresponding to a greater number of field devices 112a-c communicating data over the single universal I/O bus 136a than the number of field devices communicating data over other types of bus communications. For example, fieldbus segments are typically limited to transmitting signals for up to 16 field devices. Conversely, in some examples, one of the general purpose I/O buses 136a-b may provide communications associated with up to 96 termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c.

By providing termination modules 124a-c and termination modules 126a-c (which termination modules 124a-c and termination modules 126a-c may be configured to communicate with field devices 112a-c and 116a-c using different data type interfaces (e.g., different channel types), and which are configured to communicate with I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b using respective common I/

O buses

136a and 136 b), the example shown in fig. 1A enables routing data associated with different field device data types (e.g., the data types or channel types used by field devices 112a-c and 116 a-c) to I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b without having to implement multiple different field device interface types on I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b. Thus, an I/O card having one interface type (e.g., an I/O bus interface type for communicating via I/O bus 136a or I/O bus 136 b) may communicate with multiple field devices having different field device interface types.

The use of I/O bus 136a and/or I/O bus 136b to exchange information between controller 104 and termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c enables defining field device-I/O card connections routing late in the design or installation process. For example, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c may be disposed at various locations within the marshalling cabinet 122 while maintaining access to respective ones of the I/

O buses

136a and 136 b.

In the illustrated example, the marshalling cabinet 122, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c, the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, and the controller 104 facilitate porting an existing process control system installation to a configuration substantially similar to the configuration of the example process control system 100 of FIG. 1A. For example, because the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c are configured to include any suitable field device interface type, the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c can be configured to communicatively couple to existing field devices that are already installed in the process control system. Similarly, the controller 104 may be configured to include a known LAN interface for communication to an installed workstation via a LAN. In some example embodiments, the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b may be installed on or communicatively coupled to known controllers so that controllers already installed in a process controller system do not have to be replaced.

In the illustrated example, I/O card 132a includes data structure 133 and I/O card 134a includes data structure 135. The data structure 133 stores field device identification numbers (e.g., field device identification information) corresponding to field devices (e.g., the field devices 112 a-c) assigned to communicate with the I/O card 132a via the universal I/O bus 136a. The termination modules 124a-c may use the field device identification numbers stored in the data structure 133 to determine whether a field device is improperly connected to one of the termination modules 124a-c. The data structure 135 stores field device identification numbers (e.g., field device identification information) corresponding to field devices (e.g., the field devices 116 a-c) assigned to communicate with the I/O card 134a via the universal I/O bus 136 b. The

data structures

133 and 135 may be populated by engineers, operators, and/or users via the workstation 102 during configuration time of the example process control system 100 or during operation of the example process control system 100. In some examples, the termination modules 124a-c may be communicatively coupled to a plurality of field devices (e.g., an active field device and a redundant or backup field device). In such an example, the data structure 135 stores a field device identification number corresponding to each field device (e.g., the field devices 116a-c and the corresponding spare field device). Although not shown, the redundant I/O card 132b stores the same data structure as data structure 133 and the redundant I/O card 134b stores the same data structure as data structure 135. Additionally or alternatively, the

data structures

133 and 135 may be stored in the workstation 102.

In the illustrated example, the marshalling cabinet 122 is shown as being located in a termination area 140 that is separate from the process control area 110. Communicatively coupling the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c to the controller 104 by using the I/O buses 136a-b instead of substantially more communication media (e.g., multiple communication buses, each uniquely associated with one or a limited set of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c along a multi-drop segment) facilitates locating the controller 104 relatively further from the marshalling cabinet 122 than known configurations without substantially reducing communication reliability. In some example embodiments, the process control area 110 and the termination area 140 may be combined such that the marshalling cabinet 122 and the controller 104 are located in the same area. In any event, locating marshalling cabinet 122 and controller 104 in a separate area from

process zones

114 and 118 enables isolation of I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c, and universal I/O bus 136a-b from harsh environmental conditions (e.g., heat, moisture, electromagnetic noise, etc.) that may be associated with

process zones

114 and 118. In this manner, the cost and complexity of designing and manufacturing the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c and the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b may be substantially reduced relative to the cost of manufacturing communication and control circuitry for the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c because the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c and the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b do not need to ensure the operating specification features (e.g., shielding, more robust circuitry, more complex error checking, etc.) required for reliable operation (e.g., reliable data communication) that would otherwise be necessary to operate in the environmental conditions of the

process areas

114 and 118.

FIGS. 1B-1D illustrate alternative exemplary embodiments that may be used to communicatively couple a workstation, a controller, and an I/O card. For example, in the illustrated example of FIG. 1B, a controller 152 (which performs substantially the same functions as the controller 104 of FIG. 1A) is communicatively coupled to I/O cards 154a-B and 156a-B via a backplane communications bus 158. I/O cards 154a-b and 156a-b perform substantially the same functions as I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b of FIG. 1A and are configured to communicatively couple to general I/O buses 136a-b to exchange information with termination modules 124a-b and 126a-c. To communicate with the workstation 102, the controller 152 is communicatively coupled to the workstation 102 via the LAN 106.

In another illustrated example shown in FIG. 1C, a controller 162 (which performs substantially the same functions as the controller 104 of FIG. 1A) is communicatively coupled to the workstation 102 and a plurality of I/O cards 164a-b and 166a-b via the LAN 106. I/O cards 164a-b and 166a-b perform substantially the same functions as I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b of FIG. 1A and are configured to communicatively couple to general I/O buses 136a-b to exchange information with termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c. Unlike I/O cards 132a-B and 134a-B of FIG. 1A and I/O cards 154a-B and 156a-B of FIG. 1B, however, I/O cards 164a-B and 166a-B are configured to communicate with controller 162 and workstation 102 via LAN 106. In this manner, I/O cards 164a-b and 166a-b may exchange information directly with workstation 102.

In yet another illustrative example shown in FIG. 1D, I/O cards 174a-b and 176a-b (which perform substantially the same functions as I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b of FIG. 1A) are implemented in a workstation 172 (which performs substantially the same functions as workstation 102 of FIG. 1A). In some exemplary embodiments, physical I/O cards 174a-b and 176a-b are not included in the workstation 172, but the functionality of the I/O cards 174a-b and 176a-b is implemented in the workstation 172. In the illustrated example of FIG. 1D, I/O cards 174a-b and 176a-b are configured to communicatively couple to general purpose I/O buses 136a-b to exchange information with termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c. Further, in the illustrated example of FIG. 1D, the workstation 172 is configured to perform substantially the same functions as the controller 104, such that a controller need not be provided to implement a process control strategy. A controller may also be provided.

Fig. 2 is a detailed illustration of the exemplary marshalling cabinet 122 of fig. 1A. In the illustrated example, the marshalling cabinet 122 is provided with

receptacle rails

202a and 202b to receive the termination modules 124a-c. Additionally, an I/O bus transceiver 206 is provided for marshalling cabinet 122, I/O bus transceiver 206 communicatively coupling termination modules 124a-c to the general I/O bus 136a described above in connection with FIG. 1A. The I/O bus transceiver 206 may be implemented using transmitter and receiver amplifiers that condition signals exchanged between the termination modules 124a-c and the I/O cards 132a-b. Another general purpose I/O bus 208 is provided for marshalling cabinet 122, and another general purpose I/O bus 208 communicatively couples termination modules 124a-c to I/O bus transceiver 206. In the example shown, the I/O bus transceiver 206 is configured to communicate information using a wired communications medium. Although not shown, marshalling cabinet 122 may be provided with another I/O bus transceiver substantially similar or identical to I/O bus transceiver 206 to communicatively couple termination modules 126a-c with I/O cards 134a-b.

Using a common communication interface (e.g., I/O bus 208 and I/O bus 136 a) to exchange information between I/O cards 132a-b and termination modules 124a-c enables defining the routing of field device connections to the I/O cards late in the design or installation process. For example, the termination modules 124a-c may be communicatively coupled to the I/O bus 208 at a plurality of locations within the organizer 122 (e.g., a plurality of termination module receptacles of the receptacle rails 202 a-b). Additionally, the common communication interface between the I/O cards 132a-b and the termination modules 124a-c (e.g., I/O bus 208 and I/O bus 136 a) reduces the amount of communication media (e.g., the number of communication buses and/or wires) between the I/O cards 132a-b and the termination modules 124a-c, thereby enabling the installation of relatively more termination modules 124a-c (and/or termination modules 126 a-c) in the marshalling cabinet 122 than the number of known termination modules that may be installed in known marshalling cabinet configurations.

To display field device identification information and/or other field device information associated with the termination modules 124a-c, a display 212 (e.g., an electronic termination label) is provided for each of the termination modules 124a-c. The display 212 of the termination module 124a displays the field device identification (e.g., field device tag) of the field device 112a (fig. 1A). Additionally, the display 212 of the termination module 124a may be used to display field device activity information (e.g., measurement information, line voltage, etc.), data type information (e.g., analog signals, digital signals, etc.), field device status information (e.g., device on, device off, device error, etc.), and/or any other field device information. If the termination module 124a is configured to be communicatively coupled to multiple field devices (e.g., the field device 112a of FIG. 1A and other field devices (not shown)), the display 212 can be used to display field device information associated with all of the field devices communicatively coupled to the termination module 124. In the example shown, the display 212 is implemented using a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). In other exemplary embodiments, however, the display 212 is implemented using any other suitable display technology.

To retrieve (retrieve) field device identification information and/or other field device information, a tagger 214 (e.g., a termination tagger) is provided for each of the termination modules 124a-c. For example, when the field device 112a is communicatively coupled to the termination module 124a, the tagger 214 of the termination module 124a retrieves the field device identification information and/or any other field device information from the field device 112a (and/or other field devices communicatively coupled to the termination module 124 a) and displays the information via the display 212 of the termination module 124a. The tag 214 is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 8. Providing the display 212 and the tag 214 reduces the cost and installation time associated with manually attaching the tag to the wires and/or bus associated with the termination module and the field device. In some exemplary embodiments, however, manual wire labeling may also be used in conjunction with the display 212 and the labeler 214. For example, the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c may be relatively quickly communicatively coupled to the I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b by using the display 212 and the tagger 214 to determine which of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c is connected to each of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c. Subsequently, after installation is complete, a label may optionally be added to the buses or wires extending between the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c and the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c. The display 212 and the tagger 214 may also reduce costs and time associated with maintenance operations by configuring the display 212 and the tagger 214 to display status information (e.g., equipment error, equipment warning, equipment on, equipment off, equipment disabled, etc.) to facilitate the troubleshooting process.

To provide electrical power to the termination modules 124a-c, the I/O bus transceiver 206, and the display 212, a power supply 216 is provided to the marshalling cabinet 122. In the example shown, the termination modules 124a-c use the electrical power from the power supply 216 to power a communication channel or communication interface for communicating with field devices (e.g., the field devices 112a-c of FIG. 1A) and/or to provide the field devices with electrical power for operation. Additionally, in some examples, a power regulator 218 is provided for the marshalling cabinet 122 to regulate or adjust the power provided to each of the termination modules 124a-c along the receptacle rails 202 a-b. In some examples, the termination modules 124a-c may be powered from an external power source and/or power regulator via an integrated power injection bus communicatively coupled to the socket rails 202 a-b.

Fig. 3 is another exemplary marshalling cabinet 300 that may be used to implement the exemplary marshalling cabinet 122 of fig. 1A. In the depicted example, a wireless I/O bus communication controller 302 is provided for marshalling cabinet 300 to wirelessly communicate with controller 104 of FIG. 1A via a wireless general purpose I/O connection 304. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of termination modules 306, substantially similar or identical to the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c of FIG. 1A, are plugged into the

rail receptacles

308a and 308b and communicatively coupled to the wireless I/O bus communications controller 302 via a universal I/O bus 309 internal to the organizer 300. In the example shown, the wireless I/O bus communication controller 302 emulates an I/O card of the controller 104 of fig. 1A (e.g., I/O card 134a of fig. 1A) to enable the termination module 306 to communicate with the controller 104.

Unlike the example shown in fig. 2, in which the displays 212 are mounted on the termination modules 124a-c, in the illustrated example of fig. 3, a plurality of displays 310 are mounted in a marshalling cabinet 300 associated with the receptacles for receiving the termination modules. In this manner, when one of the termination modules 306 is plugged into a field device and communicatively coupled to the field device (e.g., one of the field devices 112a-c and 116a-c of FIG. 1A), a corresponding one of the tagger 214 and the display 310 of the termination module 306 can be used to display field device identification information that is representative of the field device connected to the termination module 306. The display 310 may also be used to display any other field device information. A power supply 312 is provided for marshalling cabinet 300, power supply 312 being substantially similar or identical to power supply 216 of fig. 2. Further, in some examples, a power regulator 314 is provided for the marshalling cabinet 300, the power regulator 314 being substantially similar or identical to the power regulator 218 of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of the exemplary termination module 124a of fig. 1A and 2, and fig. 5 shows a side view of the exemplary termination module 124a of fig. 1A and 2. In the illustrated example of fig. 4, the display 212 is on a top surface of the exemplary termination module 124a such that the display 212 is visible to an operator or user during operation when the termination module 124a is inserted into the rail receptacle 202a (fig. 3). As shown in the illustrated example of fig. 5, the example termination module 124a is movably coupled to the base 402. The exemplary termination module 124a includes a plurality of contacts 404 (two of which are shown), the plurality of contacts 404 communicatively and/or electrically coupling the termination module 124a to the base 402. In this manner, the pedestal 402 may be coupled to the marshalling cabinet 122 (fig. 1A and 2), and the termination module 124a may be coupled to the marshalling cabinet 122 via the pedestal 402 and may be removed from the marshalling cabinet 122 via the pedestal 402. The base 402 is provided with termination screws 406 (e.g., field device interface) to bolt or secure a conductive communication medium (e.g., a bus) to the field device 112a. When the termination module 124a is removably coupled to the bus 402, the termination screws 406 are communicatively coupled to one or more of the contacts 404 to enable the communication of information between the termination module 124a and the field device 112a. In other exemplary embodiments, any other suitable type of field device interface (e.g., a socket) may be provided for the base 402 in place of the termination screws 406. Additionally, although one field device interface (e.g., termination screw 406) is shown, the base 402 may be provided with more field device interfaces configured to enable communicatively coupling a plurality of field devices to the termination module 124a.

To communicatively couple termination module 124a to general I/O bus 208 of FIG. 2, base 402 is provided with a general I/O bus connector 408 (FIG. 5). When a user inserts base 402 into socket rail 202a or socket rail 202b (FIG. 2), universal I/O bus connector 408 engages universal I/O bus 208. The universal I/O bus connector 408 may be implemented using any suitable interface, including a relatively simple interface, such as an isolated punch-through connector. To enable the transfer of information between termination module 124a and I/O bus 208, I/O bus connector 408 is connected to one or more of contacts 404 of termination module 124a.

As shown in fig. 5, an optional display interface connector 410 may also be provided with the base 402 to communicatively couple the termination module 124a to an external display (e.g., one of the displays 310 of fig. 3). For example, if the termination module 124a is implemented without the display 212, the termination module 124a may use the display interface connector 410 to output field device identification information or any other field device information to an external display (e.g., one of the displays 310 of FIG. 3).

Fig. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the example termination module 124a of fig. 1A and 2, fig. 7 is a detailed block diagram of the example I/O card 132a of fig. 1A, and fig. 8 is a detailed block diagram of the example tag 214 of fig. 2, 3, and 6. The example termination module 124a, the example I/O card 132a, and the example tag 214 may be implemented using any desired combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software. For example, one or more integrated circuits, discrete semiconductor components, or passive electronic components may be used. Additionally or alternatively, some or all of the blocks of the example termination module 124a, the example I/O card 132a, and the example tagger 214, or portions thereof, may be implemented using instructions, code, and/or other software and/or firmware, etc. stored on a machine-accessible medium that, when executed by, for example, a processor system (e.g., the example processor system 1610 of fig. 16), perform the operations represented in the flowcharts of fig. 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, and 12. Although the example termination module 124a, the example I/O card 132a, and the example tagger 214 are described as having one of the various blocks described below, two or more of any of the respective blocks described below may be provided for each of the example termination module 124a, the example I/O card 132a, and the example tagger 214.

Turning to FIG. 6, the example termination module 124a includes a general purpose I/O bus interface 602 to enable the example termination module 124a to communicate with the I/O cards 132a-b of FIG. 1A (or any other I/O cards). The I/O bus interface 602 may be implemented, for example, using the RS-485 serial communication standard, ethernet, or the like. To identify the address of the termination module 124a and/or the address of the I/O card 132a, the termination module 124a is provided with an address identifier 604. The address identifier 604 may be configured to query the I/O card 132a (fig. 1A) for a termination module address (e.g., a network address) when the termination module 124a is inserted into the marshalling cabinet 122. In this manner, the termination module 124a may use the termination module address as a source address when communicating information to the I/O card 132a, and the I/O card 132a uses the termination module address as a destination address when communicating information to the termination module 124a.

To control the various operations of the termination module 124a, an operation controller 606 is provided for the termination module 124a. In an exemplary embodiment, the operation controller may be implemented using a microprocessor or microcontroller. The operation controller 606 communicates instructions or commands to the other portions of the example termination module 124a to control the operation of those portions.

An I/O bus communication processor 608 is provided for the exemplary termination module 124a to exchange information with the I/O card 132a via the general purpose I/O bus 136a. In the illustrated example, the I/O bus communications processor 608 packetizes information for transmission to the I/O card 132a and depacketizes information received from the I/O card 132a. In the illustrated example, the I/O bus communication processor 608 generates header information for each packet to be transmitted and reads the header information from the received packet. Exemplary header information includes a destination address (e.g., a network address of the I/O card 132 a), a source address (e.g., a network address of the termination module 124 a), a packet type or data type (e.g., analog field device information, command information, temperature information, real-time data values, etc.), and error checking information (e.g., a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)). In some example embodiments, the I/O bus communication processor 608 and the operation controller 606 may be implemented using the same microprocessor or microcontroller.

To provide (e.g., obtain and/or generate) field device identification information and/or any other field device information (e.g., activity information, data type information, status information, etc.), the termination module 124a is provided with a tagger 214 (fig. 2 and 3). The tag 214 is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 8. The termination module 124a also includes a display 212 (fig. 2), the display 212 to display the field device identification information provided by the tagger 214 and/or any other field device information.

To control the amount of power provided to the field device 112a of FIG. 1A (or any other field device), a field power controller 610 is provided for the termination module 124a. In the example shown, a power supply 216 in marshalling cabinet 122 (fig. 2) provides electrical power to termination module 124a to power the communication channel interface to communicate with field device 112a. For example, some field devices communicate using 12 volts, while others communicate using 24 volts. In the example shown, field power controller 610 is configured to regulate, and step up and/or step down the electrical power provided by power supply 216 to termination module 124a. In some examples, power regulation is accomplished via a power regulator 218 associated with the marshalling cabinet (fig. 2). In some example embodiments, the field power controller 610 is configured to limit the amount of electrical power used to communicate with and/or be delivered to the field device to substantially reduce or eliminate the risk of sparking in a flammable or combustible environment.

To convert electrical power received from the power source 216 (FIG. 2) into electrical power for the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a, the termination module 124a is provided with a power converter 612. In the illustrated example, the circuitry used to implement the termination module 124a uses one or more voltage levels (e.g., 3.3V) that are different than the voltage levels required by the field device 112a. The power converter 612 is configured to provide different voltage levels to the termination module 124a and the field device 112a using power received from the power supply 216. In the illustrated example, the electrical power output generated by the power converter 612 is used to power up the termination module 124a and the field device 112a and to communicate information between the termination module 124a and the field device 112a. Some field device communication protocols require relatively higher or lower voltage levels and/or current levels than other communication protocols. In the example shown, the field power controller 610 controls the power converter 612 to provide a voltage level to power up the field device 112a and communicate with the field device 112a. In other exemplary embodiments, however, the electrical power output generated by the power converter 612 can be used to power the termination module 124a while a separate power source external to the marshalling cabinet 122 is used to power the field device 112a.

To electrically isolate the circuitry of termination module 124a from I/O card 132a, one or more isolation devices 614 are provided for termination module 124a. The isolation device 614 may be implemented using a galvanic isolator (galvanic isolator) and/or an opto-isolator. An exemplary isolation structure is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 9.

To convert between analog and digital signals, the termination module 124a is provided with a digital-to-analog converter 616 and an analog-to-digital converter 618. The digital to analog converter 616 is configured to convert the digital representation of the analog value received from the I/O card 132a to an analog value that can be communicated to the field device 112a of FIG. 1A. The analog-to-digital converter 618 is configured to convert analog values (e.g., measurement values) received from the field device 112a to digital representations of the values that may be communicated to the I/O card 132a. In alternative exemplary embodiments, in which the termination module 124a is configured to communicate digitally with the field device 112a, the digital-to-analog converter 616 and the analog-to-digital converter 618 may be omitted from the termination module 124a.

To control communication with the field device 112a, the termination module 124a is provided with a field device communication processor 620. The field device communication processor 620 ensures that the information received from the I/O card 132a is in the correct format and voltage type (e.g., analog or digital) to be transmitted to the field device 112a. If the field device 112a is configured to communicate using digital information, the field device communication processor 620 is also configured to package or unpack the information. Additionally, the field device communication processor 620 is configured to extract information received from the field device 112a and communicate the information to the analog-to-digital converter 618 and/or the I/O bus communication processor 608 for subsequent communication to the I/O card 132a. In some examples, the field device communication processor 620 facilitates identification of an appropriate communication protocol associated with the field device 112a. For example, the termination module 124a may be configured to communicate with fieldbus compliant devices (including Profibus PA devices or FF-H1 devices). In such an example, the field device communication processor 620 implements an auto-sensing routine, wherein the field device communication processor 620 formats test signals or requests corresponding to the Profibus PA communication protocol. If the field device 112a responds to the request, the field device 112a is identified as a Profibus PA compliant device and all future communications are formatted based on the Profibus PA protocol. If the field device 112a does not respond to the Profibus PA formatted request, the field device communication processor 620 formats a second request corresponding to the FF-H1 communication protocol to confirm whether the field device 112a is an FF-H1 compliant device based on whether the field device 112a responds to the second request. If the termination module 124a is configured to communicate using other protocols (e.g., HART), the field device communication processor 620 can generate additional requests until the appropriate communication protocol for the field device 112a is detected.

In some examples, such an auto-sensing routine is implemented on a periodic (non-periodic)) basis (e.g., after a particular threshold time period) in order to detect any changes in the field devices communicatively coupled to the termination module 124a. For example, the auto-sensing routine may detect a first active or primary field device (e.g., field device 112 a) and a second backup field device (not shown) on the wire 130a communicatively coupled to the termination module 124a. If the first field device fails, the termination module 124a can detect it by loss of communication with the first field device. In some such examples, the auto-sensing routine detects the standby device and compares device information (e.g., placeholder information, device type, vendor, revision, etc.) with device information of the failed device. In some examples, if the device information matches (e.g., the primary and backup devices are the same device except for the serial number), the termination module 124a automatically swaps the first field device with the backup field device to continue control of the process system. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, if the device information contains some difference (e.g., a different version or vendor), the termination module 124a automatically enables and begins communicating with the standby field device, but retains the "standby" name (while continuing to represent the first field device as the primary field device despite the first field device being disconnected) until an operator or engineer specifies removal of the first field device and/or specification of the standby field device as a new, running or primary device.

In the illustrated example, the field device communication processor 620 is also configured to timestamp information received from the field device 112a. Generating the time stamp at termination module 124a facilitates implementing sequence of events (SOE) operations using sub-microsecond time stamp precision. For example, the time stamp and corresponding information may be communicated to the controller 104 and/or the workstation 102. The sequence of events operations performed, for example, by the workstation 102 (FIG. 1A) (or any other processor system) may then be used to analyze what occurred before, during, and/or after a particular operating state (e.g., a failure mode) to determine what caused the particular operating state to occur. Sub-microsecond timestamps enable events to be captured with relatively high granularity. In some example embodiments, the field device communication processor and the operational controller 606 may be implemented using the same microprocessor or microcontroller.

Typically, a field device communication controller, similar to the field device communication controller 620, configured to communicate with field devices is provided with communication protocol functions or other communication functions (e.g., fieldbus communication protocol functions, HART communication protocol functions, etc.) corresponding to the type of field device. For example, if the field device 112a is implemented as a HART device, HART communication protocol functionality is provided for the field device communication controller 620 of the termination module 124a. When the termination module 124a receives information from the I/O card 132a intended for the field device 112a, the field device communication controller 620 formats the information according to the HART communication protocol and passes the information to the field device 112a.

In the example shown, the field device communication controller 620 is configured to process pass-through messages. The passed message originates at a workstation (e.g., the workstation 102 of fig. 1A) and is transmitted as a payload (e.g., the data portion of the communication packet) through a controller (e.g., the controller 104 of fig. 1A) and up to a termination module (e.g., the termination module 124a of fig. 1A) for delivery to a field device (e.g., the field device 112 a). For example, messages originating at the workstation 102 and intended for delivery to the field device 112a are tagged at the workstation 102 as having a communication protocol descriptor (e.g., HART protocol descriptor) and/or formatted according to the communication protocol of the field device 112a. The workstation 102 then encapsulates the message into the payload of one or more communication packets to pass the message as a pass-through message from the workstation 102 through the I/O controller 104 to the termination module 124a. The encapsulated messages include messages within the encapsulated header information, such as according to a communication protocol (e.g., fieldbus protocol, HART protocol, etc.) used to communicate with the field devices. When the termination module 124a receives a communication packet containing a passed message from the I/O card 132, the I/O bus communication processor 608 (fig. 6) extracts the payload from the received communication packet. The field device communication controller 620 (fig. 6) then unpacks the passed message from the payload, formats the message according to the communication protocol descriptor generated by the workstation 102 (if not already formatted at the workstation 102), and transmits the message to the field device 112a.

The field device communication controller 620 is also configured to communicate the passed messages to the workstation 102 in a similar manner. For example, if the field device 112a generates a message intended for the workstation 102 (e.g., a response to a workstation message or any other message), the field device communication controller 620 encapsulates the message from the field device 112a into the payload of one or more communication packets, and the I/O bus communication processor 608 transmits the one or more packets containing the encapsulated message to the I/O card 1332a. When the workstation 102 receives a packet containing a packet message from the controller 104, the workstation 102 may unwrap and process the message.

The termination module 124a is provided with a field device interface 622, the field device interface 622 configured to communicatively couple the termination module 124a to a field device (e.g., the field device 112a of FIG. 1A). For example, the field device interface 622 may be communicatively coupled to the termination screw 406 of fig. 4 and 5 via one or more of the contacts 404 (fig. 4).

In some examples, the termination module 124a is provided with a fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624, the fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 configured to provide advanced diagnostics related to an associated field device when the field device is compliant with the fieldbus. The fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 performs measurements related to the condition of the physical wiring (e.g., the first conductor 130a of fig. 1A) and associated communications during operation. For example, the fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 may measure supply voltage, load current, signal level, line noise, and/or bounce. While advanced diagnostic modules having similar functionality may be incorporated into a conventional fieldbus architecture, the diagnostics provided by the fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 are more reliable and/or robust because the termination module 124a is coupled to a single field device in only a point-to-point architecture, rather than having to diagnose multiple devices in a multi-drop architecture of a conventional fieldbus segment.

Turning now to FIG. 7, the example I/O card 132a of FIG. 1A includes a communication interface 702, the communication interface 702 communicatively coupling the I/O card 132a to the controller 104 (FIG. 1A). Additionally, the example I/O card 132a includes a communication processor 704, the communication processor 704 configured to control communications with the controller 104 and to package and unpack information exchanged with the controller 104. In the illustrated example, the communication interface 702 and the communication processor 704 are configured to communicate information intended for the controller 104 and information to be communicated to the workstation 102 (fig. 1A) to the controller 104. To communicate information intended for the workstation 102, the communication interface 702 may be configured to packetize information (e.g., information from the field devices 112a-c, termination modules 124a-c, and/or I/O cards 132 a) into the payload of one or more communication packets in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., transmission Control Protocol (TCP), user Datagram Protocol (UDP), etc.) and to communicate the packets containing the information to the workstation 102. The workstation 102 may then unpack the payload from the received packets and unpack the information in the payload. In the example shown, the information in the payload of a packet transmitted by communication interface 702 to workstation 102 may comprise one or more packetizers. For example, information originating from a field device (e.g., the field device 112 a) may be packaged in a field device communication protocol wrapper (e.g., a FOUNDATION fieldbus communication protocol wrapper, a HART communication protocol wrapper, etc.) that is packaged by the communication interface 702 according to a TCP-based protocol, a UDP-based protocol, or any other protocol to enable the controller 104 to subsequently transmit the information to the workstation 102. In a similar manner, the communication interface 702 is configured to unpack information communicated by the workstation 102 to the controller 104 and intended for delivery to the field devices 112a-c, termination modules 124a-c, and/or I/O card 132a.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, the communication interface 702 and the communication processor 704 may communicate information to the controller 104 (with or without the field device communication protocol wrapper) and the controller 104 may package information intended for the workstation 102 in the same manner as described above. The communication interface 702 and the communication processor 704 may be implemented using any wired or wireless communication standard.

In alternative exemplary embodiments, such as the illustrated example of fig. 1C, the communication interface 702 and the communication processor 704 may be configured to communicate with the workstation 102 and/or the controller 162 via the LAN 106.

To enable a user to interact with I/O card 132a and/or access I/O card 132a, I/O card 132a is provided with one or more user interface ports 706. In the example shown, user interface ports 706 include a keyboard interface port 703 and a portable handheld computer (e.g., personal Digital Assistant (PDA), tablet PC, etc.) interface port 707. For example, PDA 708 is shown communicatively coupled to user interface port 706 using wireless communications.

To communicatively couple I/O card 132a to general purpose I/O bus 136a (FIG. 1A), I/O bus interface 710 is provided for I/O card 132a. To process communication information exchanged via the I/O bus 136a and control communications via the I/O bus 136a, an I/O bus communication processor 712 is provided for the I/O card 132a. The I/O bus interface 710 may be similar or identical to the I/O bus interface 602 of FIG. 6, and the I/O bus communication processor 712 may be similar or identical to the I/O bus communication processor 608 of FIG. 6. To convert the electrical power provided by the controller 104 of FIG. 1A to the electrical power required to power and operate the I/O card 132a and/or communicate with the termination modules 124a-c, a power converter 714 is provided for the I/O card 132a.

Turning now to fig. 8, the example tagger 214 includes a communication interface 802, the communication interface 802 configured to communicatively couple the tagger 214 to a termination module (e.g., the termination module 124a of fig. 1A, 2, 4, 5, and 6) and/or a field device (e.g., the field device 112a of fig. 1A) to retrieve field device identification information (e.g., device tag value, device name, electronic serial number, etc.) and/or other field device information (e.g., activity information, data type information, status information, etc.). To control communication with the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a, the tag 214 is provided with a communication processor 804.

To detect connection of a field device (e.g., field device 112a of FIG. 1A), the tag 214 is provided with a connection detector 806. The connection detector 806 may be implemented using, for example, a voltage sensor, a current sensor, logic circuitry, etc. that senses when the field device 112a is connected to the termination module 124a. In the example shown, when the connection detector 806 determines that the field device 112a has been connected to the termination module 124a, the connection detector 806 causes a notification (e.g., an interrupt) to be transmitted to the communication processor 804 indicating the detected connection. The communication processor 804 then queries the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a for field device identification information for the field device 112a. In an exemplary embodiment, the connection detector 806 may also be configured to determine the type of connection communicatively coupling the field device 112a to the termination module 124a, such as a multi-drop connection, a point-to-point connection of an active field device to a non-active standby field device, a wireless mesh network connection, an optical connection, and the like.

To display field device identification information and/or other field device information, a display interface 808 is provided for the tagger 214. In the example shown, the display interface 808 is configured to drive and control a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). For example, the display interface 808 may be configured to control the LCD display 212 (FIG. 2) mounted on the termination module 124a or the LCD display 310 mounted on the marshalling cabinet 300 (FIG. 3). In other exemplary embodiments, however, the display interface 808 may alternatively be configured to drive other display types.

To detect activity of the field device 112a, the tagger 214 is provided with a field device activity detector 810. In the example shown, when the communication processor 804 receives data from the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a, the communication processor 804 communicates the received data to the field device activity detector 810. The field device activity detector 810 then extracts Process Variable (PV) values from the data, including, for example, measurement information (e.g., temperature, pressure, line voltage, etc.) generated by the field device 112a, or other monitoring information (e.g., valve closed, valve open, etc.). The display interface 808 may then display field device activity information (e.g., PV values, measurement information, monitoring information, etc.).

To detect the condition of the field device 112a, the tag 214 is provided with a field device condition detector 812. The field device condition detector 812 is configured to extract condition information associated with the field device 112a (e.g., device on, device off, device error, device alert, device health (open loop, short circuit, etc.), device communication condition, etc.) from data received by the communication processor 804 from the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a. In some examples, the condition information includes information based on data obtained via the fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 (fig. 6). The display interface 808 may then display the received condition information.

To identify the field device 112a, the tagger 214 is provided with a field device identifier 814. The field device identifier 814 is configured to extract field device identification information (e.g., a device tag value, a device name, an electronic serial number, etc.) from data received by the communication processor 804 from the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a. Display interface 808 may then display field device identification information. In an example embodiment, the field device identifier 814 may also be configured to detect a field device type (e.g., a valve actuator, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a flow sensor, etc.). In some examples, the field device identifier 814 is configured to identify an appropriate communication protocol associated with the field device 112a in the same or similar manner as or in conjunction with the field device communication processor 620 described above in conjunction with fig. 6.

The tagger 214 is provided with a data type identifier 816 for identifying the type of data (e.g., analog or digital) associated with the field device 112a. The data type identifier 816 is configured to extract data type identification information from data received by the communication processor from the termination module 124a and/or the field device 112a. For example, the termination module 124a can store a data type descriptor variable that indicates the type (e.g., analog, digital, etc.) with which the field device is configured to communicate, and the termination module 124a can communicate the data type descriptor variable to the communication processor 804 of the tagger 214. The display interface 808 may then display the data type. In some examples, the data type identifier 816 determines the data type associated with the field device 112a using the communication protocol identified by the field device identifier 814.

FIG. 9 illustrates an isolation circuit configuration that may be implemented in connection with the

example termination modules

124a and 124b of FIG. 1A to electrically isolate the termination modules 124a-b from each other and the field devices 112a-b from the universal I/O bus 136a. In the example shown, each of the termination modules 124a-b includes a respective termination module circuit 902 and 904 (e.g., one or more of the blocks described above in connection with fig. 6). In addition, the termination modules 124a-b are connected to their respective field devices 112a-b via the field junction box 120 a. In addition, termination modules 124a-b are connected to general I/O bus 136a and power supply 216. To electrically isolate termination module circuit 902 from general I/O bus 136a, isolation circuit 906 is provided for termination module 124a. In this manner, the termination module circuit 902 can be configured to follow (e.g., float) the voltage level of the field device 112a without affecting the voltage of the universal I/O bus 136a and without causing damage to the I/O card 132a (fig. 1A) if power surges and other power variations occur in the field device 112a. Termination module 124b also includes isolation circuitry 908, isolation circuitry 908 being configured to isolate termination module circuitry 904 from general purpose I/O bus 136a. The

isolation circuits

906 and 908 and any other isolation circuits implemented in the termination modules 124a-b may be implemented using opto-isolation circuits and electrical isolation circuits.

To isolate the termination module circuitry 902 from the power supply 216, an isolation circuit 910 is provided for the termination module 124a. Similarly, an isolation circuit 912 is provided for termination module 124b to isolate the termination module circuit 904 from the power supply 216. By isolating the

termination module circuits

902 and 904 from the power source 216, any power changes (e.g., power surges, current spikes, etc.) associated with the field devices 112a-b do not damage the power source 216. Furthermore, any power changes to one of the termination modules 124a-b do not damage or affect the operation of another one of the termination modules 124 a-b.

In known process control systems, isolation circuitry is provided in known marshalling cabinets, thereby reducing the amount of space available for known termination modules. Providing the

isolation circuits

906, 908, 910, and 912 in the

termination modules

124a and 124b as shown in the illustrated example of fig. 9 reduces the amount of space required in the marshalling cabinet 122 (fig. 1A and 2) for the isolation circuits, thus increasing the amount of space available for the termination modules (e.g., termination modules 124a-c and 126 a-c). Additionally, implementing isolation circuits (e.g.,

isolation circuits

906, 908, 910, and 912) in termination modules (e.g., termination modules 124 a-b) enables selective use of the isolation circuits only with termination modules that require isolation. For example, some of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c of FIG. 1A may be implemented without isolation circuitry.

Fig. 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12, and 15 are flowcharts of example methods that may be used to implement a termination module (e.g., termination module 124a of fig. 1A, 2, and 4-6, and/or termination module 1332a of fig. 13B), an I/O card (e.g., I/O card 132a of fig. 1A and 7), and a tag (e.g., tag 214 of fig. 2, 3, and 8). In some example embodiments, the example methods of fig. 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12, and 15 are implemented using machine readable instructions, including a program for execution by a processor (e.g., the processor 1612 shown in the example processor system 1610 of fig. 16). The programs may be embodied in software stored on a tangible medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), and a memory associated with the processor 1612 and/or as firmware and/or as dedicated hardware in a well-known manner. Further, although the example program is described with reference to the flow diagrams illustrated in fig. 10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12, and 15, persons of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many other methods of implementing the example termination module 124a, the example termination module 1332a, the example I/O card 132a, and the example tag 214 described herein may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

Turning specifically to fig. 10A and 10B, the example method of fig. 10A and 10B is described in conjunction with the example termination module 124a of fig. 1A, 2, and 4-6. The exemplary method of fig. 10A and 10B may be used to implement any other termination module. The flow diagrams of FIGS. 10A and 10B are used to describe how the example termination module 124a communicates information between the field device 112a and the I/O card 132a. Initially, termination module 124a determines whether it received a communication (block 1002). For example, if the I/O bus communication processor 608 (FIG. 6) or the field device communication processor 620 indicates that a communication has been received, e.g., via an interrupt or status register, the termination module 124a determines that it received a communication. If termination module 124a determines that it has not received a communication (block 1002), control remains at block 1002 until termination module 124a receives a communication.

If the termination module 124a receives a communication (block 1002), the termination module 124a determines whether it received a communication from a field device (e.g., the field device 112a of FIG. 1A) based on, for example, an interrupt or status register of the field device communication processor 620 (FIG. 6) (block 1004). If the termination module 124a determines that it received communication information from the field device 112a (block 1004), the field device communication processor 620 extracts field device information and field device identification information from the received communication information associated with the field device 112a based on the field device communication protocol (block 1006). The field device information may include, for example, field device identification information (e.g., device tags, electronic serial numbers, etc.), field device status information (e.g., communication status, diagnostic health information (open loop, short circuit, etc.)), field device activity information (e.g., process Variable (PV) values), field device description information (e.g., field device type or function, e.g., valve actuator, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, flow sensor, etc.), field device connection configuration information (e.g., multi-drop bus connection, point-to-point connection, etc.), field device bus or segment identification information (e.g., field device bus or field device segment via which the field device is communicatively coupled to the termination module), and/or field device data type information (e.g., analog Input (AI) data type, analog Output (AO) data type, discrete Input (DI) data type (e.g., digital input data type), discrete Output (DO) data type (e.g., digital output data type), etc.). The field device communication protocol can be any protocol used by the field device 112a (e.g., a Fieldbus protocol (e.g., FF-H1), a HART protocol, an AS-I protocol, a Profibus protocol (e.g., profibus PA), etc. in an alternative example embodiment, the field device communication processor 620 extracts only field device information from the received communication information and stores field device identification information identifying the field device 112a in the termination module 124a at block 1006. For example, upon initial connection of the field device 112a to the termination module 124a, the field device 112a can communicate its identification information to the termination module 124a and the termination module 124a can store the identification information.

The field device communication processor 620 then determines whether analog-to-digital conversion is required (block 1008). For example, if the field device 112a transmits analog measurements, the field device communication processor 620 determines that analog-to-digital conversion is needed or desired (block 1008). If analog-to-digital conversion is required, the analog-to-digital converter 618 (FIG. 6) performs conversion on the received information (block 1010).

After analog-to-digital conversion (block 1010) or if analog-to-digital conversion is not required (block 1008), the field device communication processor 620 identifies a data type (e.g., analog, digital, temperature measurement, etc.) associated with the received field device information (block 1012) and generates a data type descriptor corresponding to the received field device information (block 1014). For example, the termination module 124a may store a data type descriptor indicating the type of data that is always received from the field device 112a, or the field device 112a may communicate the data type to the termination module 124a, which the field device communication processor 620 uses to generate the data type descriptor at block 1010.

The I/O bus communication processor 608 (FIG. 6) determines the destination address of the I/O card 132a (block 1016) to which the termination module 124a is to communicate the information received from the field device 112a. For example, the communication processor 608 (FIG. 6) may obtain the target address of the I/O card 132a from the address identifier 604 (FIG. 6). In addition, the I/O bus communication processor 608 determines or generates error checking data (block 1020) for transmission to the I/O card 132a to ensure that the field device information received by the I/O card 132a is error free. For example, the I/O bus communication processor 608 may generate Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error check bits.

The I/O bus communication processor 608 then packages the field device information, the field device identification information, the data type descriptor, the destination address of the I/O card 132a, the source address of the termination module 124a, and the error checking data based on the I/O bus communication protocol (block 1022). The I/O bus communication protocol may be implemented using, for example, a TCP-based protocol, a UDP-based protocol, or the like. The I/O bus communication processor 608 may obtain the source address of the termination module 124a from the address identifier 604 (FIG. 6). The I/O bus interface 602 (FIG. 6) then transmits the packetized information via the general purpose I/O bus 136a (FIGS. 1A and 2) in conjunction with the packetized information generated and transmitted by other termination modules (e.g.,

termination modules

124b and 124c of FIG. 1A) (block 1024). For example, the I/O bus interface 602 may be provided with an arbitration circuit or device that snoops or monitors the general I/O bus 136a to determine when the general I/O bus 136a is available (e.g., not used by the termination modules 124 b-c) to communicate information from the termination module 124a to the I/O card 132a.

If the termination module 124b determines at block 1004 that the communication detected at block 1002 is not from the field device 112a (e.g., the communication is from the I/O card 132 a), the I/O bus communications processor 608 (FIG. 6) extracts the destination address from the received communication (block 1026). The I/O bus communication processor 608 then determines whether the extracted target address matches the target address of the termination module 124a obtained from the address identifier 604 (block 1028). If the destination address does not match the address of the termination module 124a (e.g., the received message is not intended for delivery to the termination module 124 a) (block 1028), control returns to block 1002 (fig. 10A). Otherwise, if the target address matches the address of the termination module 124a (e.g., the received communication is not intended for delivery to the termination module 124 a) (block 1028), the I/O bus communication processor 608 extracts the field device information from the received communication based on the I/O bus communication protocol (block 1030) and verifies the integrity of the data using, for example, a CRC verification process based on error checking information in the received communication (block 1032). Although not shown, if the I/O bus communication processor 608 determines at block 1032 that there is an error in the received communication information, the I/O bus communication processor 608 sends a message requesting retransmission to the I/O card 132a.

After verifying the data integrity (block 1032), the I/O bus communication processor 608 (or the field device communication processor 620) determines whether digital to analog conversion is required (block 1034). For example, if the data type descriptor stored in the termination module 124a indicates that the field device 112a requires analog information, the I/O bus communication processor 608 determines that digital to analog conversion is required (block 1034). If digital to analog conversion is required (block 1034), the digital to analog converter 616 (FIG. 6) performs digital to analog conversion on the field device information (block 1036). After performing the digital to analog conversion (block 1036) or if digital to analog conversion is not required (block 1034), the field device communication processor 620 communicates the field device information to the field device 112a via the field device interface 622 (FIG. 6) using the field device communication protocol of the field device 112a.

The process of FIGS. 10A and 10B ends and/or control returns to, for example, a calling process or function after the field device communication processor 620 communicates field device information to the field device 112a or after the I/O bus communication processor 608 communicates field device information to the I/O card 132a.

Fig. 11A and 11B illustrate a flow chart of an exemplary method that may be used to implement the I/O card 132a of fig. 1A to exchange information between the termination module 124a and the controller 104 of fig. 1A. Initially, the I/O card 132a determines whether it has received a communication (block 1102). For example, if the communication processor 704 (FIG. 7) indicates that it received communication information, e.g., via an interrupt or status register, the I/O card 132a determines that it received communication information. If the I/O card 132a determines that it has not received a communication (block 1102), control remains in block 1102 until the I/O card 132a receives a communication.

If the I/O card 132a receives communication (block 1102), the I/O card 132a determines whether it received communication from the controller 104 (FIG. 1A) based on, for example, an interrupt or status register of the communication processor 704 (block 1104). If the I/O card 132a determines that it received communication information from the controller 104 (block 1104), the communication processor 704 extracts termination module information (which may include field device information) from the received communication information associated with the termination module 124a.

The communication processor 704 identifies a data type associated with the received termination module information (e.g., field device analog information, field device digital information, termination module control information to control or configure the termination module, etc.) and generates a data type descriptor corresponding to the received termination module information (block 1110). In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the data type descriptors are generated at the workstation 102 (FIG. 1A), and the communication processor 704 need not generate the data type descriptors.

The I/O bus communication processor 712 (fig. 7) then determines the target address of the termination module 124a (block 1112). In addition, the I/O bus communication processor 712 determines error checking data (block 1114) to be transmitted with the termination module information to the termination module 124a to ensure that the termination module 124a received the information without error. For example, the I/O bus communication processor 712 may generate Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) error check bits.

I/O bus communication processor 712 then packages the terminating module information, the data type descriptor, the destination address of terminating module 124a, the source address of terminating module 124a, and the error checking data based on the I/O bus communication protocol (block 1116). The I/O bus interface 710 (FIG. 7) then transfers the packetized information over the general I/O bus 136a (FIGS. 1A and 2) in conjunction with packetized information destined for other termination modules (e.g.,

termination modules

124b and 124c of FIG. 1A) (block 1118). For example, I/O bus communication processor 712 may package other termination module information using, for example, the destination addresses of

termination modules

124b and 124c and transmit the termination module information for all of termination modules 124a-c via general I/O bus 136a using the RS-485 standard. Each of the termination modules 124a-c may extract its respective information from the general I/O bus 136a based on the target address provided by the I/O card 132a.

If the I/O card 132a determines at block 1104 that the communication detected at block 1102 is not from the controller 104 (e.g., the communication is from one of the terminating modules 124 a-c), the I/O bus communications processor 712 (FIG. 7) extracts a source address (e.g., a source address of one of the terminating modules 124 a-c) from the received communication (block 1122). The I/O bus communication processor 712 then extracts the data type descriptor (e.g., digitally encoded analog data type, digital data type, temperature data type, etc.) (block 1124). The I/O bus communication processor 712 also extracts termination module information (which may include field device information) from the received communication based on the I/O bus communication protocol (block 1126) and verifies the integrity of the data using, for example, a CRC verification process based on error detection information in the received communication (block 1128). Although not shown, if the I/O bus communication processor 712 determines in block 1128 that there is an error in the received communication information, the I/O bus communication processor 712 sends a retransmit request message to the termination module associated with the source address obtained in block 1122.

After verifying the data integrity (block 1128), the communication processor 704 packages the termination module information (using the source address and the data type descriptor of the termination module) and the communication interface 702 transmits the packaged information to the controller 104 (block 1130). If the information is intended for the workstation 102, the controller 104 may then communicate the information to the workstation 102. After communication interface 702 communicates information to controller 104 or termination module information to termination module 124a at I/O bus interface 710, the process of fig. 11A and 11B ends and/or control returns to, for example, a call process or function.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart of an example method that may be used to implement the tagger 214 of fig. 2, 3, and 8 to retrieve and display information associated with a field device (e.g., the field device 112a of fig. 1A) communicatively coupled to a termination module (e.g., the termination module 124a of fig. 1, 2, and 4-6). Initially, the connection detector 806 (fig. 8) determines whether a field device (e.g., field device 112 a) is connected to the termination module 124a (e.g., to the termination screw 406 of fig. 4 and 5 and/or the field device interface 622 of fig. 6) (block 1202). If the connection detector 806 determines that the field device 112a (or any other field device) is not connected to the termination module 124a (block 1202), control remains at block 1202 until the connection detector 806 determines that the field device 112a (or any other field device) is connected to the termination module 124a.

If the connection detector 806 determines that the field device 112a is connected to the termination module 124a (block 1202), the field device identifier 814 obtains field device identification information (e.g., a device tag value, a device name, an electronic serial number, etc.) that identifies the field device 112a (block 1204). For example, the field device identifier 814 can send a query to the field device 112a requesting that the field device 112a transmit its field device identification information. In another example embodiment, the field device 112a may automatically communicate its field device identification information to the field device identifier 814 upon initial connection to the termination module 124a.

The field device identifier 814 then determines whether to assign the field device 112a to communicate with the I/O card 132a via the universal I/O bus 136a based on the field device identification information (block 1206). For example, the field device identifier 814 may communicate the field device identification information to the I/O card 132a via the termination module 124a, and the I/O card 132a may compare the field device identification information to a field device identification number stored in the data structure 133 (FIG. 1A) or similar data structure stored in the workstation 102. The data structure 133 may be populated by an engineer, operator, or user with the field device identification numbers of the field devices (e.g., the field devices 112 a-c) to be communicated with the I/O card 132a via the universal I/O bus 136a. If the I/O card 132a determines that the field device 112a is assigned to the I/O bus 136a and/or the I/O card 132a, the I/O card 132a transmits a confirmation message to the field device identifier 814.

If the field device identifier 814 determines that the assigned field device 112a is not communicating via the I/O bus 136a (block 1206), the display interface 808 (FIG. 8) displays an error message (block 1208). Otherwise, the display interface 808 displays the field device identification information (block 1210). In the example shown, the field device condition detector 812 detects a field device condition (e.g., device on, device off, device error, etc.), and the display interface 808 displays the condition information (block 1212). In addition, the field device activity detector 810 (fig. 8) detects activity (e.g., measurement and/or monitoring information) of the field device 112a and the display interface 808 displays the activity information (block 1214). In addition, the data type detector 816 (fig. 8) detects the data type (e.g., analog, digital, etc.) of the field device 112a and the display interface 808 displays the data type (block 1216).

After the display interface 808 displays the error message (block 1208) or after the display interface 808 displays the data type (block 1216), the tagger 214 determines whether it should continue to monitor (block 1218) based on, for example, whether the termination module 124a is turned off or unplugged from the marshalling cabinet 122 (fig. 1A and 2). If the tagger 214 determines that it should continue monitoring, control returns to block 1202. Otherwise, the example process of fig. 12 ends and/or control returns to the calling function or process.

FIGS. 13A-B are block diagrams illustrating another example process control system 1300 before and after implementing the teachings disclosed herein, relative to an example Profibus PA process area 1302 and an example FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 (FF-H1) process area 1304. Although process control systems including Profibus PA and FOUNDATION fieldbus process areas are not common, for purposes of explanation, both are shown in the illustrated example. Furthermore, for purposes of explanation, the example process control system 1300 of FIGS. 13A-B is described using the same reference numerals used for common portions described in connection with the example process control system 100 of FIG. 1A. Thus, in the illustrated example of FIG. 13A, the process control system 1300 includes the workstation 102 communicatively coupled to the controller 1306 via the LAN 106. The example controller 1306 may be substantially similar or identical to any of the

controllers

104, 152, 162 of fig. 1A-C. Additionally, the example process control system 1300 includes a first process zone 114 associated with field devices 112a-c, which field devices 112a-c are communicatively coupled to termination modules 124a-c within an example marshalling cabinet 1308. The exemplary marshalling cabinet may be substantially similar or identical to any of the marshalling

cabinets

122, 300 of fig. 1A, 2, and 3. Termination modules 124a-c are communicatively coupled to I/O cards 132a-b within controller 1306 via a first general purpose I/O bus 136a. Further, in the example shown, the marshalling cabinet 1308 includes receptacle rails 1310 to receive additional termination modules, the receptacle rails 1310 being substantially similar or identical to the receptacle rails 202a-b, 308a-b described above in connection with fig. 2 and 3.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 13A, the example process control system 100 includes field devices 1312a-c in a Profibus

PA process area

1302 and 1314a-c in an FF-H1 process control area 1304 implemented using conventional Fieldbus architectures and components (both Profibus PA and FF-H1 are protocols associated with the Fieldbus protocol family). Thus, the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c are communicatively coupled to the controller 1306 via respective trunks or segments 1316a-b. Typically, a fieldbus trunk or segment is a single cable, comprising twisted pairs of wires, which carry digital signals and DC power to connect a plurality of field devices with a Distributed Control System (DCs) or other control system host. Fieldbus segments are typically limited to a maximum length of 1900 meters due to a number of constraints and can connect up to 16 different field devices. As shown in the illustrated example, segments 1316a-b are communicatively coupled to respective I/O cards 1318a-b and 1320a-b within controller 1306. In the example shown, each of the segments 1316a-b is coupled to two I/O cards 1318a-b or 1320a-b to provide redundancy. In some examples, the I/O cards 1318a-b and/or 1320a-b may be located in different controllers separate from each other and/or from the I/O cards 132a-b associated with the field devices 112a-c of the first process zone 114.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 13A, a segment 1316a corresponding to the example Profibus PA process area 1302 is coupled to I/O cards 1318a-b via a DP/PA segment coupler 1322. Similarly, the segment 1316b corresponding to the example FF-H1 process zone 1304 is coupled to the I/O cards 1320a-b via a power supply 1324. In some examples, DP/PA section coupler 1322 and power supply 1324 provide power regulation functionality on respective sections 1316a-b. Additionally, in the illustrated example, the DP/PA section couplers 1322 and the power supply 1324 are coupled to respective advanced diagnostic modules 1325a-b, which can monitor the physical layer of the corresponding sections 1316a-b and the communications over the sections 1316a-b during operation.

In the example shown, the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c are coupled to respective segments 1316a-b via respective cable relay points (spurs) 1326a-c and 1328 a-c. In a fieldbus architecture, each cable relay connects a corresponding field device to a segment in parallel. Thus, in many process control systems as shown in the illustrated example, each cable trunk 1326a-c and 1328a-c is coupled to a corresponding segment 1316a-b via a segment protector 1330a-b (sometimes referred to as a device coupler or field shield) to provide short-circuit protection against shorts in any one of the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c that short circuit the entire segment. In some examples, segment protectors 1330a-b limit the current (e.g., to 40 mA) on each cable relay 1326a-c and 1328 a-c. In some examples, segment protectors 1330a-b are also used to properly terminate each segment 1316a-b at an end near the field device, while DP/PA segment coupler 1322 and power supply 1324 are used to terminate the segments 1316a-b at an end near the controller. Without proper termination at both ends of the segments 1316a-b, communication errors may occur due to signal reflections.

Although fieldbus architectures provide many advantages, as described above, they also pose challenges in terms of implementation complexity and cost. For example, the complexity of fieldbus systems forces engineers to carefully design each segment, taking into account, among other factors, the number of devices served by each segment, the length of cable required, and the power requirements involved, while ensuring that each segment is properly terminated and protected from short circuits, open circuits, and/or other segment failures. In addition to the time and cost to initially configure such a fieldbus architecture, there are additional costs associated with many of the components associated with such an implementation, including DP/PA segment coupler 1322 or power supply 1324, segment protectors 1330a-b, the length of the segment cable (including multiple cables for redundancy in some examples), and I/O cards 1318a-b and 1320a-b. However, with embodiments of the teachings disclosed herein, the design complexity and costs involved in implementation and maintenance of fieldbus systems are significantly reduced.

FIG. 13B is a block diagram illustrating the example process control system 1300 of FIG. 13A after implementing the teachings disclosed herein. As shown in the illustrated example, the cable trunks 1326a-c and 1328a-c of the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c are communicatively coupled directly to respective termination modules 1332a-f that have been plugged into receptacles on the receptacle rail 1310 of the marshalling cabinet 1308 shown in FIG. 13A. That is, in contrast to the typical layout of field devices in a multi-drop architecture, in the illustrated example, each of the fieldbus compliant field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c is in point-to-point communication with a respective termination module 1332 a-f. The termination modules 1332a-f may be substantially similar or identical to the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c described above, enabling communication between the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c and the I/O cards 132a-b via the general I/O bus 136a in the same manner as described above. In this manner, the need for separate I/O cards 1318a-b and 1320a-b (FIG. 13A) specific to the corresponding Fieldbus protocol (e.g., profibus PA or FF-H1) associated with the

process zones

1302, 1304 is eliminated, and any type of field device and associated I/O can be combined into a single marshalling cabinet 1308. Similarly, the need for cable trunks or segments 1316a-b (FIG. 13A) along with any associated isolation is eliminated. Also, in some examples, the universal I/O bus 136a provides a high-speed communication backbone (e.g., via fiber optic cables) for much faster communications than the relatively slow communication backbone of typical copper-based fieldbus segments. Still further, in some examples, the universal I/O bus 136a may carry communications for up to 96 field devices, however typical fieldbus segments are limited to connecting 16 devices. Thus, the number of wires coupled to controllers for the same number of field devices is significantly reduced.

While it may be common for fieldbus architectures to configure multiple field devices in a multi-way branching structure communicatively coupled to a single termination module 1332a-f in some examples, the point-to-point or single loop architecture shown in the illustrated examples provides several advantages and simplifications over conventional fieldbus solutions. For example, with the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c wired as shown in the illustrated example, the termination modules 1332a-f can provide power and power regulation functions to each of the field devices (e.g., via the field power controller 610 described in connection with FIG. 6). In this manner, the separate DP/PA segment coupler 1322 and/or power supply 1324 shown in FIG. 13A are no longer required. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, marshalling cabinet 1308 includes a power regulator that is substantially similar or identical to power regulator 218 (fig. 2) to eliminate the need for a separate DP/PA section coupler 1322 and/or power supply 1324 shown in fig. 13A. Also, in such an example, because power is provided to the field devices in the illustrated example (e.g., within marshalling cabinet 1308), the power requirements are lower than power supplies that power along a typical fieldbus segment (e.g., voltage drops due to cable lengths). Still further, in some examples, termination modules 1332a-f provide short circuit protection and limit current for each of the cable trunks 1326a-c and 1328a-c (e.g., via corresponding field power controllers 610), thereby eliminating the need for separate segment protectors 1330 a-b.

Additionally, individually coupling the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c to separate termination modules 1332a-f provides single loop integrity so that concerns about proper termination to be addressed in typical fieldbus architectures are no longer a concern. Moreover, the direct point-to-point connection between each of the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c and the corresponding termination module 1332a-f significantly reduces the complexity and design effort involved in developing and implementing a typical fieldbus segment, as the signals from each field device are received and processed or grouped individually and electronically at the back-end. Accordingly, embodiments in accordance with the teachings disclosed herein greatly reduce the cost of acquiring, configuring and maintaining many of the components in a typical fieldbus architecture, as well as the time and expense of designing such an architecture and ensuring its proper operation. In other words, in some examples, the fieldbus compliant device may be included in a process control system without requiring any DP/PA couplers and/or power supplies on the segments (e.g., other than power supplies and/or power regulators in the marshalling cabinet 122 and/or the termination modules 1332 a-f), without requiring a segment protector, without requiring protocol-specific I/O cards, and without requiring any significant segment design effort.

Additionally, in some examples, the termination modules 1332a-f provide advanced diagnostics (e.g., via the fieldbus diagnostic analyzer 624 of fig. 6) without the need for separate advanced diagnostic modules 1325a-b. Moreover, in some examples, the diagnostics performed by the termination modules 1332a-f may be more reliable and/or robust than known advanced diagnostic modules, as each termination module 1332a-f need only monitor a single field device via a point-to-point connection, rather than multiple devices on a typical fieldbus segment.

Profibus PA and FF-H1 are both Fieldbus protocols having the same physical layer. Thus, in some examples, the termination modules 1332a-c associated with the field devices 1312a-c in the Profibus PA process area 1302 are the same as the termination modules 1332d-f associated with the field devices 13142a-c in the FF-H1 process area 1304. In other words, in some examples, cable trunks 1326a-c that are connected to termination modules 1332a-c can be connected to termination modules 1332d-f while cable trunks 1328a-c are connected to termination modules 1332a-c instead of termination modules 1332d-f. In some such examples, the termination modules 1332a-f include auto-sensing functionality to automatically detect a particular protocol (e.g., profibus PA or FF-H1) associated with the particular field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c to which the termination modules 1332a-f are connected. As a result, process control system engineers are free to use any desired fieldbus device, regardless of the associated communication protocol (and may even mix devices that are compliant with different protocols), without concern for having to design separate fieldbus segments or obtain the corresponding components needed to implement such a fieldbus.

In some examples, the termination modules 1332a-f are configured to be intrinsically safe (e.g., according to the Fieldbus Intrinsic Safety Concept (FISCO)) to implement the field devices 1312a-c and 1314a-c in hazardous environments. In such an example, the receptacle rail 1310 of the marshalling cabinet 1308 is also intrinsically safe. In some examples, the termination modules 1332a-f are configured to be certified as energy limited and/or having safety design criteria sufficient to satisfy the fieldbus non-combustible concept (FNICO). In some such examples, the termination modules 1332a-f may comply with FNICO requirements even when inserted into a marshalling cabinet via a socket rail that is not intrinsically safe.

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the termination modules described herein are configured to communicate with field devices based on communication protocols of other bus protocols (e.g., other than Profibus PA or FF-H1). For example, in some examples, the termination module may be wired to a wireless HART gateway to connect with one or more wireless HART devices using the HART-IP application protocol. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, other wireless technology standards, such as ISA (international automation association) 100.11a or WIA-PA (industrial automation-process automation wireless network), may be used to connect wireless devices. In some examples, the termination module described herein may be configured to connect with a device using an Internet Protocol (IP) based protocol (e.g., IP version 6 using the 6TiSCH standard (time slot channel hopping (TSCH)). In some examples, the termination module connects with the device using a Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol. Further, in some examples, the safety field devices may be integrated using a tunneling protocol between the safety environment and the associated safety controllers, e.g., PROFIsafe (Profibus safety).

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate alternative exemplary embodiments of peer-to-peer communication of two FF-H1 compliant field devices 1402a-B communicatively coupled to corresponding termination modules 1404A-B. The example termination modules 1404a-b are substantially similar or identical to the termination modules 1332a-f described above. Although peer-to-peer communication between devices in the field is not provided for using the Profibus PA fieldbus protocol, such communication is possible when using the FF-H1 protocol, thereby enabling control of the field independent of the controller (e.g., controller 1306 of fig. 13A). In the illustrated example of FIG. 14A, termination modules 1404A-b are coupled to corresponding termination frame bases 1406a-b (FIG. 4) that are substantially similar or identical to the base 402, except that the bases 1406a-b are shown with four corresponding terminals 1408a-b. In the illustrated example, the wire pairs corresponding to each cable relay 1410a-b of a field device 1402a-b are connected to a first pair of terminals 1408a-b, while the corresponding terminals from the second pair of terminals 1408a-b of each base 1406a-b are coupled to one another. In this manner, both of the field devices 1402a-b are communicatively coupled to each of the termination modules 1404a-b and are also communicatively coupled to each other.

As shown in the illustrated example of FIG. 14A, direct coupling of individual field devices 1402a-b to each of the termination modules 1404A-b is possible because the termination modules 1404A-b provide independent power regulation functionality (e.g., via the field device controller 610) for the respective field devices 1402 a-b. That is, the power adjustment provided by each termination module 1404a-b is used to prevent a signal from one of the field devices (e.g., field device 1402 a) from interrupting communication with another field device (e.g., field device 1402 b). As noted above, however, in some examples, power regulation is provided by a separate power regulator 218 for all field devices that are together on the same socket rail (e.g., via injected power). In some such examples, as shown in FIG. 14B, the field devices 1402a-B are communicatively coupled to the termination modules 1404a-B via the segment protectors 1412. That is, peer-to-peer communication between the field devices 1402a-b is enabled through the segment protector 1412, although each field device 1402a-b is still associated with a corresponding termination module 1404 a-b. In addition, the segment protector 1412 prevents power provided to each field device 1402a-b through its corresponding termination module 1404a-b from affecting the communication of any field device 1402 a-b. In the illustrated examples of fig. 14A and 14B, additional wiring (e.g., wiring for shielding and/or grounding) is omitted for clarity.

The exemplary method of fig. 15 is described in connection with the exemplary termination module 1332a of fig. 13B. The exemplary method of fig. 15 may be used to implement any other termination module. The flow diagram of fig. 15 is used to describe how the example termination module 1332a automatically detects a communication protocol associated with a corresponding field device (e.g., field device 1312 a) connected to the termination module 1332a. Initially, the termination module 1332a determines (e.g., via the connection detector 806 of fig. 8) whether a field device (e.g., field device 1312 a) is connected to the termination module 1332a (block 1502). If the termination module 1332a determines that the field device 1312a (or any other field device) is not connected to the termination module 1332a (block 1502), control remains in block 1502 until the termination module 1332a determines that the field device 1312a (or any other field device) is connected to the termination module 1332a.

If the termination module 1332a determines that the field device 1312a is connected to the termination module 1332a (block 1502), the termination module 1332a sends a request formatted according to a first communication protocol (e.g., profibus PA) (e.g., via the field device communication processor 620 of FIG. 6) (block 1504). In some examples, the request may correspond to a query requesting the field device to transmit its field device identification information, as described above in connection with block 1204 of fig. 12. The termination module 1332a then determines whether a response to the request is received (block 1506). As described above in connection with block 1504, the request is formatted to correspond to a particular protocol. As a result, the only way the field device 1312a can identify the request, and thus respond to the request, is whether the field device 1312a is associated with the same protocol. Thus, if the termination module 1332a determines that a response is received (block 1506), the termination module 1332a designates the communication protocol of the responded request as the protocol corresponding to the field device 1312a (block 1506). For example, if the first request is formatted according to the Profibus PA protocol and a response to the request is received, the communication protocol corresponding to the field device 1312a is designated as Profibus PA.

If the termination module 1332a determines at block 1506 that a response to the request has not been received, the termination module 1332a sends another request (e.g., via the field device communication processor 620) formatted according to another communication protocol (e.g., FF-H1) (block 1508). The termination module 1332a then determines whether a response to the request is received (block 1510). If the termination module 1332a determines that a response to the request has been received (block 1510), the termination module 1332a specifies the communication protocol of the request that is being responded to as corresponding to the protocol of the field device 1312a (block 1516). If the termination module 1332a determines that a response to the request has not been received (block 1510), the termination module 1332a determines whether there are more communication protocols to test (e.g., other than Profibus PA and FF-H1 (e.g., HART)). If more communication protocols exist, control returns to block 1508 to send another request formatted according to another communication protocol. If termination module 1332a determines that there are no more communication protocols to test, termination module 1332a generates an error message (block 1514). For example, the error message may indicate that the field device 1312a is not responding and/or is unable to identify the communication protocol associated with the field device 1312 a.

After the termination module 1332a generates an error message (block 1514) or designates the communication protocol of the responded request as the protocol corresponding to the field device 1312a (block 1516), the process of fig. 15 ends and/or control returns to, for example, a calling process or function.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram of an example processor system 1610 that may be used to implement the apparatus and methods described herein. For example, a processor system similar or identical to the exemplary processor system 1610 may be used to implement the workstation 102, the controller 104, the I/O card 132a, and/or the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c of FIG. 1A. Although the example processor system 1610 is described below as including a plurality of peripherals, interfaces, chips, memory, etc., one or more of these elements may be omitted from other example processor systems for implementing one or more of the workstation 102, the controller 104, the I/O card 132a, and/or the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c.

As shown in fig. 16, the processor system 1610 includes a processor 1612 coupled to an interconnection bus 1614. The processor 1612 includes a register set or register space 1616, which is shown in FIG. 16 as being entirely on-chip, but which may alternatively be located off-chip in whole or in part and coupled directly to the processor 1612 via dedicated electrical connections and/or via an interconnection bus 1614. The processor 1612 may be any suitable processor, processing unit, or microprocessor. Although not shown in fig. 16, the system 1610 may be a multi-processor system and, thus, may include one or more additional processors that are identical or similar to the processor 1612 and that are communicatively coupled to the interconnection bus 1614.

The processor 1612 of FIG. 16 is coupled to a chipset 1618, which includes a memory controller 1620 and a peripheral input/output (I/O) controller 1622. As is well known, a chipset typically provides I/O and memory management functions as well as a plurality of general purpose and/or special purpose registers, timers, etc. that are accessible or used by one or more processors coupled to the chipset 1618. The memory controller 1620 performs functions that enable the processor 1612 (or processors if there are multiple processors) to access a system memory 1624 and a mass storage memory 1625.

The system memory 1624 may include any desired type of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), flash memory, read Only Memory (ROM), and the like. Mass storage memory 1625 may include any desired type of mass storage device. For example, if the exemplary processor system 1610 is adapted to implement the workstation 102 (FIG. 1A), the mass storage memory 1625 may include a hard disk drive, optical disk drive, tape storage device, or the like. Alternatively, if the example processor system 1610 is to implement one of the controller 104, I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, or one of the termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c, the mass storage memory 1625 may include solid-state memory (e.g., flash memory, RAM memory, etc.), magnetic memory (e.g., a hard disk drive), or any other memory suitable for mass storage in the controller 104, I/O cards 132a-b and 134a-b, or termination modules 124a-c and 126a-c.

Peripheral I/O controller 1622 performs functions that enable the processor 1612 to communicate with peripheral input/output (I/O)

devices

1626 and 1628 and a network interface 1630 via a peripheral I/O bus 1632. I/

O devices

1626 and 1628 may be any desired type of I/O device such as, for example, a keyboard, a display (e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display, etc.), a navigation device (e.g., a mouse, a trackball, a capacitive touchpad, a joystick, etc.), and the like. The network interface 1630 may be, for example, an ethernet device, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) device, an 802.11 device, a DSL modem, a cable modem, a cellular modem, or the like, that enables the processor system 1610 to communicate with another processor system.

Although the memory controller 1620 and/or the I/O controller 1622 are illustrated in FIG. 16 as separate functional blocks within the chipset 1618, the functions performed by these blocks may be integrated within a single semiconductor circuit or may be implemented using two or more separate integrated circuits.

Although certain methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a termination panel;

a shared bus located on the termination panel; and

a plurality of pedestals located on the termination panel along the shared bus, each of the pedestals removably receiving a module in communication with a field device, and each of the pedestals comprising:

a first physical interface communicatively coupled to different types of field devices and exchanging communications with one or more of the field devices via a plurality of different communication protocols, wherein a module automatically senses the communication protocol of the respective field device; and

a second physical interface communicatively coupling the removably received module to the shared bus to communicate with a controller via the shared bus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second physical interface communicatively couples the removably received module to an input/output card in the controller.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first physical interface is operable as a digital interface for a first one of the modules and is operable as an analog interface for a second one of the modules.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the different types of field devices include valves, actuators, and sensors.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the chassis is configured to receive a different type of the module.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the different types of modules comprise an analog input module, an analog output module, a digital input module, and a digital output module.

7. A system, comprising:

a base that removably receives a module, the module being selectable from different types of modules that communicate with different types of field devices, the base comprising:

a first physical interface communicatively coupling the module to at least one of the different types of field devices, wherein the module automatically senses a communication protocol of the respective field device; and

a second physical interface communicatively coupling the module to a controller, wherein insertion of the module into the base forms a connection between the module and the first and second physical interfaces;

a shared bus carrying communications between the controller, the base, and a plurality of second bases in communication with the shared bus; and

a transceiver communicatively coupled to the base and the plurality of second bases via the shared bus, the transceiver exchanging communications between the shared bus and the controller.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first physical interface exchanges information between any of the different types of modules and one or more of the different types of field devices using a plurality of different communication protocols.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the information is at least one of temperature measurement information, pressure measurement information, fluid flow measurement information, or valve actuator control information.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with an input/output card in the controller.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with the controller via an ethernet protocol.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the transceiver is a wireless transceiver.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the base is configured to be removably mounted to a socket rail to communicatively couple the base to the transceiver.

14. A system, comprising:

a base that removably receives a module that is selectable from different types of modules that communicate with different types of field devices, wherein the module automatically senses a communication protocol of the respective field device;

a first physical interface and a second physical interface formed in the base, the first physical interface communicatively coupling the module to at least one of the different types of field devices, and the second physical interface communicatively coupling the module to a controller;

a shared bus in communication with the base and a plurality of second bases, the shared bus carrying communications between the controller, the base, and the plurality of second bases; and

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first physical interface exchanges information between any of the different types of modules and one or more of the different types of field devices using a plurality of different communication protocols.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the information is at least one of temperature measurement information, pressure measurement information, fluid flow measurement information, or valve actuator control information.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with an input/output card in the controller.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate with the controller via an ethernet protocol.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is a wireless transceiver.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the base is configured to be removably mounted to a socket rail to communicatively couple the base to the transceiver.