Bluetooth low energy based emergency backup and recovery solution in an industrial controller

An apparatus comprising:

• a backup power source configured to store electric energy and to output electric energy when a main power source is off;
• a shared memory configured to be accessed by a processor and a BLUETOOTH low energy (BLE) module, to store information written by the processor, and to operate using at least some of the electric energy output from the backup power source when the main power source is off;
• switching the BLE module to a power save mode in response to detecting a communication problem with the processor via a wire connection between the BLE module and the processor;
• switching the BLE module out of a power save mode in response to the BLE module receiving a communication from an external device;
• and
• the BLE module coupled to the backup power source, the BLE module configured to operate using at least some of the electric energy output from the backup power source when the main power source is off, to read the information stored in the shared memory, and to transmit the information to an external device through a wireless communication channel using a BLUETOOTH communication protocol.

A system comprising:

• an industrial controller configured to control an industrial process in an industrial facility, the industrial controller comprising a processor configured to operate when a main power source is on;
• and
• a BLUETOOTH low energy (BLE) based emergency backup and recovery tool coupled to the industrial controller, the tool comprising:
• a backup power source configured to store electric energy and to output electric energy when the main power source is off;
• a shared memory configured to be accessed by the processor and a BLE module, to store information written by the processor, and to operate using at least some of the electric energy output from the backup power source when the main power source is off;
• switch to a power save mode in response to detecting a communication problem with the processor via a wire connection between BLE module and the processor;
• switch out of a power save mode in response to receiving a communication from the external device;
• and
• the BLE module coupled to the backup power source, the BLE module configured to operate using at least some of the electric energy output from the backup power source when the main power source is off, to read the information stored in the shared memory, and to transmit the information to an external device through a wireless communication channel using a BLUETOOTH communication protocol.