Wireless monitoring and configuration tether for use with isolated industrial product and method of operation thereof

A wireless communications system for configuring and/or monitoring an isolated industrial product, the wireless communications system comprising:

• a status indicator light structure positioned within an opening of a housing panel of a housing containing an isolated industrial product, the status indicator light structure comprising:
• an inductive charging coil;
• and
• a communication circuit operably connected to the isolated industrial product, the communication circuit including transmit and receive optical components that provide light based communication;
• and
• a portable tether device magnetically coupled to the housing panel and positioned over the status indicator light structure, the portable tether device comprising:
• an outer housing;
• an inductive receive coil positioned within a chamber defined by the outer housing and operable with the inductive charging coil to provide inductive charging to the portable tether device;
• and
• a communication circuit powered by the inductive receive coil, the communication circuit including transmit and receive optical components that provide light-based communication and wireless communication circuitry configured to transmit and receive wireless data signals;
• wherein the transmit and receive optical components of the status indicator light structure and the transmit and receive optical components of the portable tether device are aligned with one another to enable light-based communication therebetween.

A method of configuring and/or monitoring an isolated industrial product using a portable tether device, the method comprising:

• magnetically attaching a portable tether device to an outer panel of an enclosure housing the isolated industrial product, the portable tether device attached to the outer panel so as to be positioned over a status indicator light structure operably connected to the isolated industrial product;
• powering the portable tether device via an inductive powering of the portable tether device, with the inductive powering occurring between a charging coil of the status indicator light structure and a receive coil of the portable tether device upon attachment of the portable tether device to the outer panel;
• establishing a light-based communication between the portable tether device and the status indicator light structure via the transfer of data-bearing light between transmit and receive optical components of the status indicator light structure and transmit and receive optical components of the portable tether device;
• and
• wirelessly transmitting data signals between a remote user interface and the portable tether device to perform at least one of a monitoring and configuration of the isolated industrial product via the remote user interface;
• wherein the data-bearing light relays command signals from the remote user interface to the status indicator light structure of the isolated industrial product via the portable tether device and relays monitoring data from the status indicator light structure of the isolated industrial product to the remote user interface via the portable tether device.