COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE WITH ADAPTIVE SCANNER FOR PROCESS CONTROL

摘要

A method of process control within a plant includes providing a first and second field device associated with processing equipment sensing a first and second process parameter respectively. The field devices are communicably coupled to a host computer by a communications path including a shared field communications channel portion (shared communications channel) that terminates at a communications device which includes a processor and memory that implements an adaptive scan period determination algorithm (adaptive scanner) which determines a first scan period for the first field device and a second scan period for the second field device each based on a parameter relevant to a data type of the process parameter or communications used. The host computer monitors operations in the plant using sampled data provided by the communications device including data based on the first and second process parameter at their respective scan periods.

主权项

1. A method of process control within an industrial plant (plant), comprising:
providing in said plant a process control system including a first field device associated with first processing equipment for sensing a first process parameter and at least a second field device associated with second processing equipment for sensing a second process parameter, wherein said first field device and said second field device are both communicably coupled to a host computer by a communications path including a shared field communications channel portion (shared communications channel) that terminates at a communications device which includes a processor having an associated memory which implements an adaptive scan period determination algorithm stored in said memory (adaptive scanner); said adaptive scanner adaptively determining individual scan periods including a first scan period for said first field device based on at least a first parameter relevant to a data type of said first process parameter or a communications used by said first field device and a second scan period that is not equal to said first scan period for said second field device based on at least a second parameter relevant to a data type of said second process parameter or a communications used by said second field device, and said host computer monitoring operations in said plant using sampled data provided by said communications device including data based on said first process parameter obtained from said first field device provided at said first scan period and said second process parameter obtained from said second field device provided at said second scan period.