Apparatus and methods to communicatively couple field devices to controllers in a process control system
AssigneeFisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.
InventorsKent Allan Burr, Gary Keith Law, Doyle Eugene Broom, Mark J. Nixon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A disclosed example system includes a termination panel, and a shared bus on the termination panel. The shared bus is to removably receive a plurality of bases that removably receive modules to communicate with field devices, and communicatively couple the modules to an input/output card to exchange communications between the modules and a controller that is in communication with the input/output card via a second bus.
Claims19
A system, comprising:
- a termination panel;
- and
- a shared bus on the termination panel, the shared bus to:
- removably receive a plurality of bases that removably receive modules to communicate with field devices, and
- communicatively couple the modules to an input/output card to exchange communications between the modules and a controller that is in communication with the input/output card via a second bus;
- and
- a socket rail having a plurality of termination module sockets at different locations of the socket rail, the termination module sockets to removably receive the plurality of bases to communicatively couple the modules to the shared bus.
A method, comprising:
- determining whether modules are connected to correctly corresponding field devices based on field device identifiers stored in an input/output card in communication with the modules;
- and
- exchanging communications between the modules and a controller, the modules in communication with a shared bus on a termination panel via corresponding bases, the bases removably coupled to the shared bus via termination module sockets that removably receive the bases at different locations on the termination panel, and the communications exchanged via the input/output card in communication between the shared bus and the controller.
A machine accessible storage device or storage disk having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
- determine whether modules are connected to correctly corresponding field devices based on field device identifiers stored in an input/output card in communication with the modules;
- and
- exchange communications between the modules and a controller, the modules in communication with a shared bus on a termination panel via corresponding bases, the bases removably coupled to the shared bus via termination module sockets that removably receive the bases at different locations on the termination panel, and the communications exchanged via the input/output card in communication between the shared bus and the controller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.