Patent ID: 8380463

Claim:
An apparatus for process control comprising: at least one sensor for registering at least one chemical and/or physical, process variable; at least one modularly constructed, measuring transducer circuit, which includes at least one sensor unit, which ascertains from the process variable registered by said sensor an electrical, measured variable and supplies said sensor with energy, and at least one application specific, signal processing unit for ascertaining a measured value from the electrical, measured variable; and a control/evaluation unit connected to said at least one application, signal processing unit, which is provided for evaluating and further processing of the measured value, as well as for control of the apparatus; wherein: transmission of a conditioned output signal between said at least one sensor unit and said at least one application specific, signal processing unit is provided; said at least one application specific, signal processing unit is exchangeably embodied; as a function of a predeterminable accuracy of measurement of the measured value, at least one of a plurality of different types of application specific, signal processing units is installable; at least one plug-in location in said measuring transducer circuit for modular exchanging of the different types of said at least one application specific, signal processing unit; wherein: a first type of said at least one application specific, signal processing unit is provided for applications having a low requirement for accuracy of measurement; said first type of said at least one appplication specific, signal processing unit includes at least one lowpass circuit; a second type of said at least one application specific, signal processing unit is provided for applications having an average requirement for accuracy of measurement; a third type of said at least one application specific, signal processing unit is provided for applications having a high requirement for accuracy of measurement; and said third type of said at least one application specific, signal processing unit includes at least one analog/digital converter circuit.