Patent ID: 7246194

Claim:
An interface module for use in a process control system including a Fieldbus process control network having a plurality of Fieldbus field devices and a first non-Fieldbus process control network having a plurality of non-Fieldbus field devices, the interface module operatively connecting the Fieldbus process control network to the first non-Fieldbus process control network and being adapted to facilitate the exchange of process control information between the Fieldbus process control network and the first non-Fieldbus process control network, the interface module comprising: a Fieldbus I/O module operatively connected to the Fieldbus process control network and configured to transmit and receive Fieldbus protocol messages on the Fieldbus process control network; a first non-Fieldbus I/O module operatively connected to the first non-Fieldbus process control network and being adapted to transmit and receive messages communicated using a protocol other than the Fieldbus protocol on the first non-Fieldbus process control network; and a controller operatively connected to the Fieldbus I/O module and the first non-Fieldbus I/O module, the controller comprising a processor and a memory operatively connected to the processor, the controller being programmed to store in the memory table containing information for Fieldbus process control parameters of the Fieldbus process control network that are mapped to corresponding process control parameters of the non-Fieldbus process control network, wherein the table includes a record for each Fieldbus process control parameter mapped to a non-Fieldbus process control parameter, and wherein each record in the table includes information identifying the Fieldbus process control parameter, a value of the Fieldbus process control parameter, and an identifier for the non-Fieldbus process control parameter to which the Fielbus control parameter is mapped, the controller being programmed to cause the Fieldbus I/O module to request current values of the Fieldbus process control parameters having records in the table from the corresponding Fieldbus field devices, the controller being programmed to store the current values of the Fielbus process control parameters in the table with the identifiers for the corresponding process control parameters of the non-Fieldbus process control network, and the controller being programmed to cause the first non-Fieldbus I/O module to transmit response messages to the non-Fieldbus field devices with the current values of the Fieldbus process control parameters stored in the table and the identifiers for the corresponding non-Fieldbus process control parameters in response to receiving request messages from the non-Fieldbus field devices at the non-Fieldbus I/O module for the current values of the non-Fieldbus process control parameters.