Publish-subscribe communication architecture for field devices in control and automation systems

A field device comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory device, coupled to the processor, the memory device storing (I) a plurality of pre-defined publish lists, each pre-defined publish list corresponding to one of at least two available publish categories, each pre-defined publish list comprising a particular set of parameters associated with the field device, and (ii) a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
• receive, from a client device or application, during run-time operations of a process plant, a message indicating a one of the at least two available publish categories, the one publish category indicating a category of information desired by the client device or application;
• transmit, to the client device or application, an identification of each of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists that are stored in the memory device prior to receiving the message from the client device or application, corresponding to the indicated publish category;
• receive, from the client device or application, a selection of one of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists identified by the field device;
• and
• transmit, to the client device or application, the particular set of parameters associated with the selected one of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists.

A system comprising:

• a controller controlling a plant that performs operations on one or more materials to transform the one or more materials into a product;
• a communication network;
• and
• a plurality of field devices coupled by the communication network to the controller, the plurality of field devices receiving commands from the controller and transmitting parameter values to the controller, each of the plurality of field devices comprising:
• a processor;
• and
• a memory device, coupled to the processor, the memory device storing (a) a plurality of pre-defined publish lists, each pre-defined publish list corresponding to one of at least two available publish categories, each pre-defined publish list comprising a particular set of parameters associated with a particular field device, and (ii) a set of instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
• receive, from a client device or application, during run-time operations of the plant, a message indicating a one of the at least two available publish categories, the one publish category indicating a category of information desired by the client device or application;
• transmit, to the client device or application, an identification of each of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists that are stored in the memory device prior to receiving the message from the client device or application, corresponding to the indicated publish category;
• receive, from the client device or application, a selection of one of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists identified by the particular field device;
• and
• transmit, to the client device or application, the particular set of parameters associated with the selected one of the plurality of pre-defined publish lists.

A method comprising:

• transmitting to a field device during run-time operations of a process plant, a message indicating a selection of a first one of a plurality of publish categories, each of the plurality of publish categories corresponding to a type of information;
• receiving, from the field device, an identification of each of a plurality of publish lists that are pre-defined and stored on the field device prior to receiving the message, the identification corresponding to the first one of the plurality of publish categories, each of the plurality of publish lists comprising a particular set of parameters associated with the field device;
• transmitting to the field device a selection of a first one of the plurality of publish lists identified by the field device;
• and
• receiving, from the field device, the particular set of parameters associated with the first one of the plurality of publish lists.