Patent ID: 8942219
Filing Date: 2015-01-27
Classification: G01D,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of efficiently operating a wireless communication network in a process control environment, wherein the wireless communication network includes a plurality of field devices, the method comprising: defining a communication protocol for supporting wireless communications between pairs of the plurality of field devices, including providing a set of protocol commands; defining a plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes as repeating cycles of consecutively scheduled communication timeslots of a certain duration, wherein at least two of the plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes each includes a different number of communication timeslots, and wherein defining the plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes includes: transferring process control data from the first field device of the plurality of field devices to at least the second field device of the plurality of field devices using a first subset of two or more of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol, including transmitting and receiving data within the communication timeslots associated with the plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes, wherein the transferred process control data includes sensor measurement data and control data for controlling a particular device associated with a process control scheme; and transferring the network management data from the first field device to the at least the second field device or to a third field device of the plurality of field devices using a second subset of two or more of the set of protocol commands of the communication protocol, including transmitting and receiving the network management data within the communication timeslots associated with the first one of the plurality of concurrent overlapping superframes.