Patent ID: 9615149
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: G01D,G05B,H04B,H04L,H04Q,H04W

Claim:
1. A method of communicating sensor data, comprising: providing a process facility running a physical process, said process facility including a level 0 having a plurality of processing equipment and a plurality of field devices, level 1 including process controllers, level 2 including supervisory controllers, a multi-loop current junction box (junction box) having an analog front end (AFE) including a signal path having an input node, an internal current sensor device, and an output node for each loop (current loop), level 3 including a control room, and level 4 including a business network, and at least one wireless single hop device (WSH device) including a processor and a wireless transmitter installed in said level 0, said level 1 or said level 2; receiving analog current sensing signals (sensing signals) originating from said plurality of field devices at respective ones of said input nodes; wherein said output nodes are coupled to said supervisory controllers, providing a processed form of said sensing signals to said supervisory controllers, and wherein an input of said WSH device is coupled to receive respective outputs generated from sensing of said sensing signals (sensed sensing signals) by said internal current sensor device, said WSH device wirelessly multiplex transmitting said sensed sensing signals to at least one of said business network and a portable wireless process monitoring device of a user within said process facility.