US007010294B1
`
`(12)
`
`United States Patent
`Pyotsia et al.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,010,294 B1
`Mar. 7, 2006
`
`(54) WIRELESS CONTROL OFA FIELD DEVICE
`IN AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS
`
`
`(75) Inventors: Jouni Pyotsia, Helsinki (Fl); Markku - ~ ~ _ -
`
`
`
`
`glmula’Fllklsmkl (FD’ Ham Cederlof’
`SPOO (
`)
`
`.
`.
`.
`.
`(73) AsslgneeZ M9150 Automatlon 03'’ He1S1nk1(FI)
`
`*
`
`_
`) Nome?
`
`(
`
`_
`_
`_
`_
`sublectto any d1SC1a1II1@r>_the term Ofthls
`patent 1s extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/550,311
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Apr. 14, 2000
`
`5,793,963 A *
`5,956,487 A *
`6,020,881 A *
`
`8/1998 Tapperson et a1. ........ .. 709/201
`9/1999 Venkatraman et a1. .... .. 709/218
`2/2000 Naughton et a1. ........ .. 345/740
`
`,
`,
`2 i
`
`gapakdopoulos ct a1~ ----- ~~ no son .................... ..
`6,139,177 A * 10/2000 Venkatraman et a1. ...... .. 700/83
`6,154,658 A * 11/2000 Caci ......................... .. 455/466
`6,363,419 B1 *
`3/2002 Martin et a1.
`709/219
`6,415,245 B1* 7/2002 Williams et a1. .... ..
`702/188
`
`6,421,716 B1 *
`7/2002 Eldridge et a1. .......... .. 709/219
`6,460,060 B1 * 10/2002 MaddaloZZo et a1. ..... .. 715/513
`6,549,773 B1 *
`4/2003 Linden et a1.
`455/4261
`6,560,640 B1 *
`5/2003 Smethers .................. .. 709/219
`6,674,363 B1 *
`1/2004 Bartelheim et a1. .... .. 340/539.1
`2001/0012024 A1* 53/2001 Rosin et a1. .............. .. 345/841
`2002/0019709 A1 *
`2/2002 Segal ........................ .. 702/45
`(Continued)
`
`(30)
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`Apr. 16, 1999
`
`(F1)
`
`.................................... .. 990864
`
`DE
`
`197 24 901
`
`12/1998
`
`(51) Int CL
`(200601)
`H04M 3/00
`(52) US. Cl. ................ .. 455/420; 455/422.1; 455/90.3;
`455/303; 702/188; 700/17; 700/65; 700/83;
`715/735; 715/736; 715/737; 715/740; 715/854;
`715/864; 709/203; 709/206; 709/219; 340/3.1;
`340/3.71; 340/3.9
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search ................ .. 700/17,
`700/65 83 264 2 9. 345/734_740 853
`345/854 ’864’ 744;
`34061 39 371?
`455/3 01 3 63 42,3 42,5 68 88 ’90 3’ 420’
`‘(SS/‘42,211 4021,88. ’715}73i_740’ 853’
`715/854 864’ 744 746? 709/217 219’ 203’
`’
`’
`’
`’ 709006’ 313’ 329’
`See application ?le for Complete Search history’
`'
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S- PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner—Anthony Knight
`Assistant Examiner—crystal J, Barnes
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Pillsbury Winthrop ShaW
`Pittman, LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`_
`_
`_
`_
`A mobile terminal is arranged to communicate over a
`cellular communication system With a control system con
`nected to a plurality of ?eld devices in an industrial process,
`in order to remote control, con?gure or monitor the ?eld
`devices. The mobile terminal accesses through a dedicated
`data connection established over the cellular communication
`system an interactive user interface associated With the
`control system and arranged to utilize the con?guration,
`control and management data of the control system. In the
`preferred embodiment, the interactive user interface is pro
`vided by a World Wide Web server.
`
`5,640,153 A
`5,793,693 A
`
`6/1997 Hildebrand et a1. ....... .. 340/7.1
`8/1998 Collins et al. ....... .. 365/230.01
`
`13 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets
`
`24
`
`21
`25
`K2
`K1
`> Diagnostics
`OLE
`/ VYvWvSeNer :
`nteractive
`pages 1135118
`Data
`system
`
`HTML
`
`25
`7
`Gateway/'13P N
`
`I HTML
`
`Ham
`Field bus
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`Field devices
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 1
`
`

`

`US 7,010,294 B1
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2/2002 Petite ....................... .. 702/188
`2002/0019725 A1 *
`2002/0046290 A1* 4/2002 Andersson et a1. ....... .. 709/237
`2002/0049565 A1* 4/2002 Kirila et a1. .............. .. 702/188
`2002/0049637 A1* 4/2002 Harman et a1. ............. .. 705/26
`2002/0130846 A1* 9/2002 N'1X(')I1 e181. .... ..
`345/169
`2003/0204373 A1* 10/2003 Zlehnskl et a1. ..
`702/184
`2005/0122232 A1* 6/2005 DeGroot ......... ..
`. 340/8702
`2005/0130605 A1* 6/2005 Karschnia et a1. ....... .. 455/903
`
`DE
`DE
`51?
`EP
`JP
`W0
`
`1/1999
`197 30 363
`10252277 A1 : 5/2004
`lggségé A1
`$333
`825506 A2 * 2/1998
`2003134261 A * 5/2003
`WO 99/07128
`* 2/1999
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 2
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 7, 2006
`
`Sheet 1 01'3
`
`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`Factory LAN
`
`
`i1 -
`
`\ Coniroi room, databases, MES
`
` ..__,_._._.¢
`
`
`
`24
`
`25
`
`21
`
`K2
`/
`www
`OLE
`/
`
`server
`Diagnostics
`Interactive
`5 stem
`
`HTML pages
`y
`
`Hart/
`
`Field bus
`
`
`
`
`Field devices
`
`16
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015—01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 3
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 3
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 7, 2006
`
`Sheet 2 of3
`
`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`55
`/
`VWWV server
`Interactive
`HTML pages ‘
`
`24
`/
`
`HTML
`
`OLE
`
`Data
`
`Data ‘
`
`WAF’ Gateway N 55
`
`Fig, 5
`
`Diagnostics
`system
`
`Hart/
`Field bus
`
`M,
`
`communication
`
`14-
`
`16
`
`Field devices
`
`Interactive
`user interface
`unit
`\
`
`Fig (6)
`
`64
`
`OLE
`
`Data
`
`Data
`
`Diagnostics
`system
`
`Hart/
`Field bus
`
`2 2
`
`communication
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 4
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 7, 2006
`
`Sheet 3 0f 3
`
`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`Fig,
`
`Fig,
`
`Fig,
`
`Fig,
`
`Fig,
`
`---—- Plants areas ---- -
`o PLANT AREA 1
`
`e PLANT AREA 3
`o PLANT AREA 4
`
`---- Tags found ------ -
`@ 15FV281
`e 15FV322
`o 15FV328
`
`Select
`
`Back
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 5
`
`

`

`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`1
`WIRELESS CONTROL OF A FIELD DEVICE
`IN AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to a control and manage
`ment systems of industrial processes, and particularly to a
`Wireless con?guration, management and control of ?eld
`devices.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Field devices for industrial processes generally signify
`regulating devices, control devices, sensors, transducers,
`and the like, directly connected to the process. Atypical ?eld
`device is a control valve provided With a valve controller,
`such as the valve controller ND800 of Neles Controls Oy.
`So-called intelligent ?eld devices are provided With a con
`trol logic and softWare, Which make it possible to control the
`?eld device locally for instance by means of a suitable
`control algorithm, to collect status and measurement data
`and/or to communicate With an automation system or a ?eld
`device management system.
`FIG. 1 illustrates a general diagram of a process automa
`tion system and an associated maintenance management
`system of ?eld devices. The automation system comprises
`control room programs and databases 11 as Well as process
`control programs and an I/O part 12. Traditionally, the ?eld
`devices have been connected to the control system by
`tWo-Wired tWisted pair loops, each device being connected
`to the control system by a single twisted pair providing a
`4—20 mA analog input signal. More recently, neW solutions,
`such as HighWay Addressable Remote Transducers (HART)
`protocol, that alloW to transmit digital data together With
`conventional 4 to 20 mA analog signal in the tWisted pair
`loop, have been used in the control systems. In the most
`recent phase of evolution, a ?eld control system (FCS) has
`been introduced Which employs a totally digital high-speed
`netWork or data bus for interconnecting the control room
`computer and the ?eld devices. The analog sWitched pair
`loops are omitted in the PCS. A neW communication pro
`tocol is generally referred to as ?eldbus have been de?ned
`by the Instrument Society of America (ISA). With reference
`to the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1, the control and I/O
`part 12 is connected via HART buses to intelligent ?eld
`devices, such as control valves 14, 15, 16 and valve con
`trollers 14A, 15A, 16A. HART enables a tWo-Way commu
`nication, by means of Which the intelligent ?eld devices can
`be controlled, con?gured and monitored. The HART proto
`col is described in greater detail for instance in the publi
`cation HART ?eld communication protocol: An introduction
`for users and manufacturers, HART Communication Foun
`dation, 1995. Again With reference to FIG. 1, ?eld devices
`are monitored by a ?eld device management system 10
`Which collects data from the ?eld devices. For this purpose,
`each ?eld device 14, 15 and 16 is connected via respective
`?eld bus to a conventional HART multiplexer 9, Which again
`is connected via an RS-485 bus 8 to a PC 6. It should be
`appreciated that the architecture shoWn in FIG. 1 is only one
`eXample of possible control and management system archi
`tectures. For eXample, the ?eld device management system
`may be partially or totally integrated into the automation
`system. HoWever, as the ?eld devices are typically supplied
`by different manufacturers than the automation system, the
`diagnostics of the ?eld device is normally an area belonging
`to the ?eld device supplier and not to the supplier of the
`
`2
`actual automation system, and therefore, very often separate
`management systems are provided.
`Therefore, at least in some automation and ?eld device
`management systems intelligent ?eld devices can be con
`?gured, controlled, and/or monitored by the operator of the
`plant from the control room. HoWever, it is desired that also
`the maintenance personnel in different locations in the plant
`are capable of monitoring, con?guring and controlling the
`?eld devices. A prior art approach is to provide the main
`tenance personal With special purpose communicator for
`con?guration of the ?eld devices, such as a hand-held HART
`communicator Which can be connected to the HART bus via
`special purpose con?guration ports.
`Another approach is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 5,793,693,
`Wherein each ?eld device is provided With a Wireless ?eld
`bus port that is accessible by Wireless hand-held unit or
`Wireless terminal in order to obtain non-redundant second
`ary access to a ?eld device that is controlled by a control
`room. This approach avoids the need for physical connection
`to the ?eld bus or the ?eld device but still requires a
`special-purpose communicator and a dedicated control soft
`Ware for each different type of ?eld devices.
`A still another approach is a GSM-control concept pro
`vided by Klinkmann, Finland. GSM control is a PC (Per
`sonal Computer) softWare Which alloWs to use standard
`loW-cost GSM cellular phones as tWo-Way remote control
`lers. A GSM modem is connected to the PC by a RS232
`serial port. The communication betWeen the GSM phone and
`the GSM modem is a standard SMS (Short-Message-Ser
`vice) communication via a public GSM netWork Which
`enables a transfer of teXt messages betWeen the GSM phone
`and the GSM control program running in the PC. The GSM
`control softWare can be connected to other WindoWs pro
`grams and softWare. This GSM control approach might be
`suitable also for controlling and managing ?eld devices in an
`industrial process. The bene?t Would be that standard cel
`lular phones can be used instead of special purpose diag
`nostic terminals. HoWever, the communication based on
`SMS messages transmitted via a public GSM netWork is not
`reliable enough for controlling industrial processes. The
`transfer times of the short messages may vary from seconds
`to hours, and the messages may even be lost Without ever
`reaching the recipient, due to the traffic load variation in the
`SMS centres and the GSM netWork involved. This results in
`intolerable response times from inputting a control com
`mand by the maintenance person at the cellular phone until
`the command is received and performed by the automation
`system or the ?eld device. The maintenance person cannot
`even be sure Whether the message is received or not.
`Therefore, the user of the standard SMS concept of the GSM
`system is not suitable for control and con?guration of ?eld
`devices in an industrial process.
`A further problem relating to the knoWn GSM control
`concept is a complicated management of various interrelated
`data, such as users, phone numbers, passWords, DDE
`addresses, read messages, Write messages, alarm/event mes
`sages, default messages, etc. According to a current speci
`?cation this data is linked With each other according to the
`folloWing hierarchy: at the highest level there are con?gured
`users, each user being able to have several phone numbers
`and passWords. For each passWords there are pointers to
`corresponding read, Write, alarm/event or teXt messages.
`These messages are further linked With appropriate DDE
`addresses. In an industrial process there may be hundreds of
`?eld devices, and therefore it Will be in practice impossible
`for a maintenance person to cope With this information and
`
`10
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`15
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`25
`
`35
`
`40
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`45
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`55
`
`65
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 6
`
`

`

`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`3
`to easily and ef?ciently make the control procedures. Fur
`ther, it is difficult to maintain the information updated.
`
`DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
`
`An object of the invention is to enable a remote control,
`con?guration or monitoring of ?eld devices by a general
`purpose mobile terminal While avoiding or alleviating the
`above described problems.
`An aspect of the present invention is a control system for
`controlling con?guring or monitoring ?eld devices in an
`industrial process, said control system being connected to a
`plurality of ?eld devices and comprising at least one mobile
`terminal arranged to communicate With the control system
`over a cellular communication system in order to selectively
`remotely control, con?gure or monitor the ?eld devices. The
`control system comprises an interactive user interface asso
`ciated With the control system and arranged to utiliZe the
`con?guration, control and management data of the control
`system and accessible by the mobile terminal through a
`dedicated data connection established over the cellular com
`munication system, in order to selectively control, con?gure
`or monitor the ?eld devices connected to the control system.
`In accordance With the basic principle of the present
`invention a direct on-line-type connection is established
`from the mobile terminal through a cellular communication
`netWork, and possible other transit communication net
`Works, to a ?eld device control system Which is connected
`to the ?eld devices in the industrial process or plant. The
`on-line connection may be any virtual, packet sWitched or
`circuit sWitched connection or a combination thereof Which
`provides an adequate quality of service (QoS), at least With
`respect to the transmission delay and reliability. In response
`to the control provided over the on-line connection the
`actual ?eld device control system controls the addressed
`?eld device according to the protocols used in the ?eld
`device control system. As a result, it can be said that there
`is an on-line connection from the controlling mobile termi
`nal to the controlled ?eld device so that the reliable and safe
`control of the ?eld device With a very short response time is
`achieved, Which alloWs the remote control and con?guration
`of the ?eld device in any situation, such as an emergency.
`According to another feature of the invention the ?eld
`device control system is provided With a interactive user
`interface Which is accessible by the mobile terminal through
`the on-line data connection over the cellular communication
`system. The interactive user interface is preferably using an
`open protocol Which is accessible by a general-purpose
`mobile terminal. The content of the interactive user inter
`face, ie the information sent to the mobile terminal as Well
`as the ?eld device speci?c control data inputted to the
`control system from the user interface is built up using the
`con?guration, control and management data available in the
`control system. This enables that the content of the user
`interface is alWays updated With the control system and the
`process. In practice, the content of the user interface may be
`created by using same database(s) as the control system. The
`interactive user interface may be further arranged to modify
`the content of the interactive user interface in response to
`requests or selections made by the mobile terminal and in
`base of the con?guration, control and management data rate
`retrieved from the control system, and to create control or
`con?guration commands to the control system in response to
`selections or inputs made by the mobile terminal user in the
`interactive user interface. This results in very simple yet
`reliable control procedures in the user point of view.
`
`4
`In a preferred embodiment of the invention the interactive
`user interface is provided by a WWW (World Wide Web)
`server associated With the control system. The mobile ter
`minal sets up a data connection over the cellular communi
`cation system to an internet access point (IAP), Which is an
`internet access server (proxy) gateWay of a public internet
`service provider or an internet/intranet access server of the
`plant or a private company, for eXample. The gateWay
`communicates over the intranet/internet With the WWW
`server providing the interactive user interface. The interac
`tive user interface is a WWW page or a set of WWW pages.
`The content of the WWW page is created based on the
`control, con?guration or management data retrieved from
`the control system. The mobile terminal comprises a
`broWser Which enables to retrieve the content of the inter
`active WWW page to the mobile terminal and display it to
`the user. The broWser also enables the user to make selec
`tions and/or to input information on the interactive WWW
`page. The content of the WWW page may be converted
`betWeen the normal WWW format and a second WWW
`format requiring less data transmission capacity in the radio
`interface and a smaller display. The second WWW format
`may be the one used in a Wireless application protocol
`(WAP) de?ned for mobile communication systems. The
`conversion is preferably carried out in the gateWay. It is,
`hoWever, also possible that the content of the WWW page is,
`at least partially, in said second format.
`Embodying the interactive user interface as a WWW page
`provides an informative and easy-to-use interface for con
`trolling the ?eld devices. It also provides means for trans
`ferring various types of information, such as teXt, graphics,
`1.e.
`In accordance With a still further embodiment of the
`invention the WWW server is arranged to assist the selection
`of the desired ?eld device by providing a hierarchic set of
`WWW pages representing a logical, functional or location
`architecture of the plant in a tree con?guration. Each hier
`archic level provides a user With information of different
`routes Which can be selected on a loWer level. Thereby the
`user of the mobile terminal is able to proceed from the
`higher hierarchy level to a loWer one until a WWW page for
`a desired ?eld device is found. A ?eld device is preferably
`identi?ed by a tag number of the ?eld device Which is also
`used in the control system and in the plant.
`In a still another embodiment of the invention the WWW
`server is provided With a search function Which in response
`to an identity of a ?eld device, such as the tag number, sent
`by the mobile terminal searches the WWW page for the
`respective ?eld device. If a truncated or ambiguous identity
`is sent by the mobile terminal, a search function may be
`arranged to display a list of ?eld devices to Which the
`truncated or ambiguous identity matches, so that the user is
`able to select the desired one.
`
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The invention Will noW be described in more detail by
`means of preferred embodiments, With reference to the
`attached draWings, in Which
`FIG. 1 illustrates the process automation systems and a
`?eld device maintenance management system in Which the
`invention be applied,
`FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrates the embodiments of the invention
`in Which the interactive user interface is realiZed by means
`of interactive HTML pages,
`FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C illustrate a hierarchic WWW pages
`for selection of the ?eld device,
`
`65
`
`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 7
`
`

`

`US 7,010,294 B1
`
`5
`FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the WWW pages for selecting
`a ?eld device by means of a search criterion,
`FIG. 6 illustrates the embodiments of the present inven
`tion in Which the mobile terminal is connected to the
`interactive user interface by means of a modem connection
`or via a data netWork,
`
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`The present invention can be applied to any industrial
`process or the like comprising an automation, control or
`diagnostic system and intelligent ?eld devices. Intelligent
`?eld device signify here any device relating to a process or
`an automated system or a control thereof Which shall be
`15
`controlled and/or is capable of producing diagnostic data. A
`typical intelligent ?eld device is a control valve With a valve
`controller.
`With reference to FIG. 2, a diagnostic system 21 may be
`any automation system, such as automation system 11 and
`12 in FIG. 1, or any ?eld device management or control
`system, such as the management system 10 in FIG. 1, or
`combination thereof. Acharacteristic feature of the diagnos
`tic system is that it comprises a Wired connection, such as a
`?eld bus or a HART bus, to ?eld devices 14, 15 and 16, and
`is able to control or con?gure the ?eld devices, or to read
`measurement or status data from the ?eld devices. For this
`purpose, the diagnostic system 21 comprises a management
`and control softWare for the ?eld devices. In the preferred
`embodiment each ?eld device type (eg tWo different con
`trol valves or control valves of different manufacturers may
`represent different device types) is provided With a speci?c
`control softWare Which contains all necessary data and
`instructions sets for controlling, con?guring, reading, etc.,
`the ?eld devices of a predetermined time. Normally these
`operations can be made by a control room personnel from a
`Work station. A device database 22 stores information on
`each ?eld device controlled by the diagnostic system 21 and,
`preferably, all diagnostics data read from the ?eld devices.
`In other Words, the database 22 contain an updated con?gu
`ration of ?eld devices as Well as the operation history
`thereof.
`In accordance to the principles of the present invention,
`the diagnostic system 21 is further provided With an inter
`active user interface Which utiliZe the con?guration, control
`and management data in the database 22 and is accessible by
`the mobile terminal MT through a dedicated data connection
`established over the cellular communication system 26, in
`order to selectively control, con?gure or monitor the ?eld
`devices 14, 15 and 16 connected to the diagnostic system 21.
`In the preferred embodiment of the invention the interactive
`user interface is embodied as one or more World Wide Web
`(WWW) pages in a WWW server 23.
`As Well knoWn in the art of communication, the Internet
`World-Wide Web
`architecture provides a very ?eX
`ible and poWerful programming model. Applications and
`contents are presented in standard data formats, the most
`commonly used format being the HyperTeXt Markupf Lan
`guage (HTML). The W pages are broWsed by applica
`tions knoWn as Web broWsers. The Web broWser is a netWork
`application, i.e., it send requests for named data objects to a
`WWW server and the WWW server responses With the data
`encoded using the standard formats (such as HTML). Also
`standard netWorking protocols are used for alloWing any
`Web broWser to communicate With any WWW server, the
`most commonly used protocol being the HyperTeXt Transfer
`Protocol (HTTP). The Internet 24 is a set of interconnected
`
`6
`TCP/IP netWorks, as Well knoWn in the art. Private TCP/IP
`netWorks are also called Intranets.
`In FIG. 2 the mobile terminal MT establishes a data
`connection to the gateWay or proXy 25, Which is connected
`to the internet/intranet 24. GateWay 25 may be an internet
`access server of a public internet service provider (ISP) such
`as Euronet, or a private internet access point. In any case, the
`connection established via the mobile communication sys
`tem 26 betWeen the mobile terminal MT and the gateWay 25
`may be any data or modem connection utiliZed for internet
`access in the mobile communications systems. The mobile
`terminal MT is provided With an internet broWser, Which is
`capable to send requests to the gateWay and to receive and
`process the WWW contents received from the gateWay 25.
`The gateWay 25 acts as an intermediary client for the
`purpose of making requests on behalf of the mobile terminal
`MT. A gateWay 25 forWards the requests received from the
`mobile terminal MT to the WWW server 23 via the internet
`24 according to the standard internet protocols. The W
`server 23 responses to the requests by sending the requested
`WWW pages to the gateWay 25 Which forWards the WWW
`pages to the broWser in the mobile terminal MT. The
`gateWay 25 may also include translation or conversion
`betWeen different content formats or protocols as Will be
`eXplained in more detail beloW. In the mobile terminal MT
`the broWser displays the retrieved WWW pages to the user
`on the display of the MT. In other Words, the connection and
`communication betWeen the mobile terminal MT and the
`inventive WWW server 23 may be similar to any conven
`tional or future internet connection from a mobile terminal
`to a WWW server. Also the mobile terminal may be any
`terminal equipment With a internet capability, such as a
`mobile phone, a mobile phone connected to a computer, a
`data terminal equipment provided With a mobile communi
`cation capability, etc. The data connection betWeen the
`mobile terminal and a gateWay 25 may be a circuit sWitched
`connection, a packet sWitched connection, a virtual connec
`tion (such as asynchronous transfer mode, ATM), etc. The
`only requirement is that the data connection provides a
`suf?cient quality of service (QoS), especially in the trans
`mission delay and reliability point of vieW.
`At present, the most promising method for providing a
`standard mobile terminal MT With a internet capability is a
`Wireless Application Protocol, WAP, de?ned by the Wireless
`Application Protocol Forum. WAP speci?es an application
`frameWork and netWork protocols for Wireless devices, such
`as mobile telephones, pagers and personal digital assistance
`(PDAs). The speci?cations eXtend mobile netWorking tech
`nologies (such as digital netWorking standards) and internet
`technologies (such as XML, URLs, Scripting, and various
`content formats). WAP de?nes a set of standard components
`that enable communication betWeen mobile terminals and
`WWW servers. WAP content and applications are speci?ed
`in a set of Well-knoWn content formats based on familiar
`WWW content formats. The most common WAP content
`format Will be Wireless Markup Language, WML, Which is
`a language very similar to HTML and used to create WAP
`pages that can be displayed in a WAP broWser, i.e. micro
`broWser in the Wireless terminal Which is analogous to the
`standard Web broWser. The WAP content types and protocols
`have been optimiZed for mass market, hand-held Wireless
`devices.
`FIG. 3 illustrates the Wireless control arrangement accord
`ing to the present invention When using the WAP. The
`diagnostic system 21, device database 22 as Well as the
`WWW server 33 may be similar to those described With
`reference to FIG. 2. HoWever, content of W pages may
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`Lindsay Corporation
`IPR2015-01039
`
`Exhibit 1007 - 8
`
`

`

`US 7,010,294 B1
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`be created so that the use of WAP and WML is taken into
`account, eg by providing simple WWW pages With the
`HTML language or by using the WML language in the
`WWW pages. The mobile terminal MT is provided With a
`WAP micro broWser, Whereas the data connection through
`the mobile communication netWork 26 is similar to that in
`FIG. 2. AWAP gateWay 35 provides a connection betWeen
`the mobile communication netWork 26 and the WWW
`technology in the internet 24. Firstly, the WAP gateWay 35
`translates WAP requests to WWW requests thereby alloWing
`the WAP micro broWser in the mobile terminal MT to submit
`requests to the WWW server 33. The WAP gateWay 35 also
`translates the responses from the WWW server 33 into a
`format understood by the micro broWser in the MT. If the
`WWW server 33 provides a WAP content (e.g., WML), the
`WAP gateWay 35 retrieves it directly from the WWW server
`and forWards it to the MT. HoWever, if the WWW server 33
`provides a WWW content (such as HTML), the WAP
`gateWay 35 (or a separate ?lter unit) translates the WWW
`content (e.g., HTML) into a WAP content (e.g., WML). This
`translation is also called ?ltering since it often extracts the
`essential parts of the WWW content for translation. Afurther
`advantage of the WAP is that it inherently provides a
`connection security betWeen the MT and the WWW server
`33. The security and the authentication of the user is
`especially important When the inventive arrangement is used
`for con?guration and control of the ?eld devices. As the
`con?guration and control commands Will affect on the
`operation of the plant, a system according to the invention
`has to assure that the user is an authoriZed user. It may also
`be possible to create a WWW server 33 that includes the
`WAP gateway functionality 35, in order to facilitate end-to
`end security solutions, or to achieve better access control or
`a guarantee of responsiveness.
`The WWW server 23 and 33 utiliZes the data in the device
`database 22 for creating the interactive WWW pages for
`broWsing the data and for control and con?guration of the
`?eld devices. As the server 23 or 33 uses the same database
`With the diagnostic system 21, the contents of the WWW
`pages are alWays up-to-date. The mobile terminal MT is able
`40
`to broWse the diagnostic and con?guration data in the device
`database 22 by means of the interactive WWW pages. In
`response to the requests and selections made by the user in
`the interactive WWW pages the WWW server 23 makes
`inquiries to the device database 22, and a neW WWW page
`is created according to the data obtained from the database
`22. The created WWW page may include diagnostic data,
`status and an operation history data of the selected ?eld
`device, as Well as information required for controlling and
`con?guring the ?eld device. According to the user’s selec
`tions an appropriate piece of data is shoWn in the WWW
`page in teXt format, graphical format and/or in any other
`suitable format, together With the ?elds or links for making
`further selections or commands. The server 23 or 33 trans
`lates the con?guration or control commands made by the
`user in the interactive WWW page into con?guration com
`mands used in the interface betWeen the WWW server 23 or
`33 and the diagnostic system 21, typically based on the
`information obtained from the database 22. The interface
`betWeen the server 23 and the diagnostic system 21 may be
`OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) The diagnostic sys
`tem 21 forWards the control and con?guration commands
`received from the server 23 or 33 to the ?eld devices,
`typically upon translating the generic commands into the
`device speci?c instructions. As a result, an “on-line” con
`nection from the mobile terminal MT to the ?eld device is
`provided.
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`By means of the inventive interactive user interface and
`the “on-line” connection, the maintenance personnel is able
`to retrieve information on the operation of a desired ?eld
`device, such as a control valve, and display it on the user
`interface of the mobile terminal. The information may be
`displayed in a teXt format and/or graphical format. The
`information may also include alarms and any operation
`parameters Which the maintenance person Wishes to monitor
`on-line, such as the opening of a valve. The operational data
`obtained by the mobile terminal MT alloWs the maintenance
`person to immediately make a decision on the maintenance
`need of the respective ?eld device, ie whether it is possible
`to postpone the maintenance operation up to the neXt shut
`doWn of the plant or Whether special arrangements are
`needed in order to avoid an unintentional shutdoWn. During
`the shutdoWn of the plant the mobile terminal can be used
`for performing various ?eld test for the ?eld device, such as
`a step response test or a hystheresis test for a control valve.
`Also during the operation of the plant the diagnostic system
`21 may alloW the mobile terminal to perform a force