Networked series of sensors having distributed measurement and control for use in a hazardous environment

A networked system of devices positioned in a hazardous environment to monitor process conditions, comprising:

• an intrinsically safe barrier (“ISB”) having a safe side and a hazardous side, a network connected to said hazardous side of said ISB,
• at least one sensor located on the hazardous side of said ISB, said sensor detecting process conditions,
• at least one slave device of a plurality of slave devices connected to said network, said slave device including a microprocessor and memory to receive and record said sensor data,
• at least one master device connected to said network, said master device and said slave device communicating to one another through a digital communications sub network of said network, wherein said sub network is a tier of said network such that said master device acts as a master only to those devices of the plurality of slave devices connected to the sub network;
• said master device adapted to request portions of said recorded data from said slave device through said communications sub network and said slave device adapted to transmit said requested data to said master device through said communications sub network in response to said request;
• said master device further adapted to manipulate said received slave data, said master device further being adapted to transmit said manipulated data on said communications sub network, wherein said system further includes a means to automatically detect the communication parameters of said slave devices.

A networked system of devices positioned in a hazardous environment to monitor process conditions, comprising:

• an intrinsically safe barrier (ISB”) having a safe side and a hazardous side, a network connected to said hazardous side of said ISB,
• at least one sensor located on the hazardous side of said ISR, said sensor detecting process conditions,
• at least one slave device of a plurality of slave devices connected to said network, said slave device including a microprocessor and memory to receive and record said sensor data,
• at least one master device connected to said network, said master device and said slave device communicating to one another through a digital communications sub network of said network, wherein said sub network is a tier of said network such that said master device acts as a master only to those devices of the plurality of slave devices connected to the sub network;
• said master device adapted to request portions of said recorded data from said slave device through said communications sub network and said slave device adapted to transmit said requested data to said master device through said communications sub network in response to said request;
• said master device further adapted to manipulate said received slave data, said master device further being adapted to transmit said manipulated data on said communications sub network wherein said system further includes a means to automatically configure the data transmissions between said master device and said slave device.

A networked system of devices positioned in a hazardous environment to monitor process conditions, comprising:

• an intrinsically safe barrier (“ISB”) having a safe side and a hazardous side, a network connected to said hazardous side of said ISB,
• a plurality of sensors located on the hazardous side of said ISB, each of said sensors detecting process or ambient conditions,
• a plurality of slave devices connected to said network, each of said slave devices including a microprocessor and memory to receive and record an associated sensor's data,
• a plurality of master devices connected to said network, each of said master devices receiving data (a “receiving master device”) from zero or more of said plurality of slave devices through a digital communications sub network of said network in response to a request for data sent from said receiving master device addressed to a particular one of said stave devices, wherein said sub network is a tier of said network such that said master device acts as a master only to those devices of the plurality of slave devices connected to the sub network;
• said receiving master devices adapted to manipulate said received data and store manipulated data or said received data and transmit said stored received or manipulated data to another of said plurality of master devices upon a request for transmission from said another of said master devices.

A low powered configured inherently safe network of devices positioned in a hazardous environment to monitor process conditions, comprising:

• an intrinsically safe barrier (“ISB”) having a safe side and a hazardous side, a network connected to said hazardous side of said ISB,
• a plurality of sensors located on the hazardous side of said ISB, each of said sensors detecting process or ambient conditions,
• a plurality of slave devices connected to said network, each of said slave devices including a microprocessor and memory to receive and record an associated sensor's data, where each slave device has capacitance of about less than 30 uF, and said slave device adapted to transmit said recorded data onto the network substantially only in response to a request for data by a master device received by said slave device transmitting the requested data,
• wherein one or more of said slave devices communicates with a master device over a sub network of said network,
• wherein said sub network is a tier of said network such that said master device acts as a master only to those devices of the plurality of slave devices connected to the sub network.

A networked system of devices positioned in a hazardous environment to monitor process conditions, comprising:

• an intrinsically safe barrier (“ISB”) having a safe side and a hazardous side,
• a series of sensors and a series of slave devices on said hazardous side of said ISB, each slave device associated with at least one sensor and adapted to receive and record said associated sensor's data,
• a series of master devices, each master device communicating with a sub-set of said series of slave devices through a sub-branch communications bus, wherein said sub-set is a tier of said network such that each master device acts as a master only to those devices of the series of slave devices in the sub-set, each of said master devices adapted to request portions of said recorded data from each of said associated slave devices through said communications bus and said associated sub-set of said slave devices adapted to transmit said requested data to said requesting master device through said communications bus in response to said request;
• each of said master devices further having a processor adapted to manipulate said associated slave data, said master device further being adapted to transmit said manipulated data on said communications bus to another of said master or slave devices.