Help system for industrial portable devices

Abstract

To provide help content for industrial portable devices.SOLUTION: A system for providing help content to an industrial portable device includes a computer network in a plant having a help server. The industrial portable device includes a computer processor with a help application that provides help content regarding the use of the industrial portable device and / or other control applications mounted on the industrial portable device. The help server can change the help content of the help application, for example, to update help. The help application is independent of other control applications and can be modified independently of other control applications. Also, the industrial portable device is a portable field device communicator and / or inherently safe.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to industrial portable devices for working with field devices in an industrial plant, and more particularly to a system for providing help information regarding one or more industrial portable devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Process control systems, such as those used in chemical and petroleum processes, include one or more process controllers communicatively connected to at least one host or operator workstation and one or more field devices via analog, digital, or combined analog and digital analog / digital communication links.

[0003] For example, a process controller (sometimes referred to as a "controller") located within a plant or other industrial environment receives signals (sometimes referred to as "control inputs") indicative of process measurements and executes control routines that use the information indicated by these signals to generate control signals (sometimes referred to as "control outputs") based on the internal logic of the control inputs and the internal logic of the control routines. The controller then transmits the generated control signals over a bus or other communication link to control the operation of field devices. In some cases, the controller can also coordinate control routines executed by smart field devices, such as HART®, WirelessHART®, and FOUNDATION® Fieldbus (sometimes referred to as "Fieldbus") field devices. Additionally, plants or other industrial equipment often operate within a plant or other industrial facility to perform functions, such as vibration sensing devices, rotating devices, power generation facilities, etc., that are not under the direct control of the process controller.

[0004] Field devices, such as valves, valve positioners, switches, and transmitters (including, for example, temperature, pressure, level, or flow sensors), typically associated with controllers are located within a plant environment and typically perform physical or process control functions. For example, valves can open and close in response to control outputs received from a controller and transmit process parameter measurements to the controller, making the measurements available to the controller as inputs. According to the Fieldbus protocol, smart field devices, such as field devices, can also perform control calculations, alarm functions, and other control functions typically employed within process controllers. Field devices can be configured to communicate with controllers and / or other field devices according to a variety of communication protocols. For example, a plant may include traditional analog 4-20 mA field devices, HART® field devices, Fieldbus field devices, and / or other types of field devices.

[0005] A traditional analog 4-20mA field device communicates with a controller over a two-wire communication link (sometimes called a "loop" or "current loop") configured to transmit a 4-20mA DC signal indicating a measurement or control command. For example, a water level transmitter can sense the water level in a tank and transmit a current signal over the loop corresponding to that measurement (e.g., a 4mA signal for 0% full, a 12mA signal for 50% full, and a 20mA signal for 100% full). The controller receives the current signal, determines the tank level measurement based on this current signal, and takes some action based on the tank level measurement (e.g., open or close an inlet valve). Analog 4-20mA field devices There are typically two types of field devices, including four-wire field devices and two-wire field devices. Four-wire field devices typically rely on one set of wires (i.e., the loop) for communication and a second set of wires for power. Two-wire field devices rely on the loop for both communication and power. These two-wire field devices are sometimes referred to as "loop-powered" field devices.

[0006] Process plants often employ traditional 4-20 mA systems due to their simple and effective design. Unfortunately, traditional 4-20 mA current loops transmit only one process signal at a time. Thus, a configuration including a control valve and flow transmitter on a pipe carrying material, for example, requires three separate current loops: one loop to transmit a 4-20 mA signal indicating a control command (to move the valve 60% open), a second loop to carry a 4-20 mA signal indicating the valve's actual position (e.g., to inform a controller of the extent to which the valve has responded to the control command), and a third loop to transmit a 4-20 mA signal indicating the measured flow rate. This can result in traditional 4-20 mA configurations in plants with numerous field devices requiring extensive wiring, which can be costly and complex to configure and maintain.

[0007] Recently, the process control industry has been moving toward implementing digital communications within the process control environment. For example, the HART® protocol uses looped DC amplitude to transmit and receive analog signals, but also superimposes an AC digital carrier signal on the DC signal to enable bidirectional communication with smart field devices. As another example, the Fieldbus protocol provides all-digital communication over a two-wire bus (also called a "segment" or "Fieldbus segment"). This two-wire Fieldbus segment can connect to and power multiple field devices (via the DC voltage available on the segment) and is configured to enable communication by the field devices (via an AC digital communication signal superimposed on the DC power voltage). Generally speaking, connected field devices use the same segment for communication and are connected in parallel, so only one field device can send a message over that segment at any given time. Therefore, communication over the segment is coordinated by a device designated as a link active scheduler (LAS). The LAS is responsible for passing a token between field devices connected to the segment. At a given time, only the device with the token can communicate over the segment.

[0008] These digital communication protocols generally allow more field devices to be connected to a particular communication link, support faster communication between field devices and controllers, and / or allow field devices to transmit more types of information (such as information about the status and configuration of the field device itself) to process controllers and devices within or connected to the control network. Additionally, these standard digital protocols allow field devices made by different manufacturers to be used together within the same process control network.

[0009] Regardless of the communication protocol utilized, field devices require assembly, configuration, testing, and maintenance in the field. For example, before a field device is installed at a specific location in a process control plant, the field device must be programmed, and the field device must be tested before and after it is installed. Field devices that are already installed must be checked periodically, for maintenance reasons, or when a fault is detected and the field device needs to be diagnosed for service or repair. Generally, the assembly and testing of field devices is Diagnostic testing is performed in the field using handheld maintenance tools such as portable test devices ("PTDs"). Because many field devices are installed in remote, hard-to-reach locations, using PTDs to test these remotely installed devices is more convenient for users than using full-featured test equipment, which is heavy, bulky, and non-portable and typically requires the installed field device to be transported to the diagnostic equipment location.

[0010] To service and / or communicate with a field device, a PTD is typically communicatively connected to a communication link (e.g., a current loop or Fieldbus segment) or directly to the field (e.g., via a communication terminal on the field device). The PTD first attempts to communicate with the field device, such as by sending and / or receiving digital communication signals along the loop or segment using a communication protocol supported by the field device. If the current loop or segment is in proper operating condition, communication signals may be sent and / or received without issue. However, if the loop, segment, or field device contains an electrical fault, such as a short or interruption, communication may be disrupted, requiring the loop, segment, and / or field device to be diagnosed to identify the fault.

[0011] Once such a fault is identified, technicians must use various other tools to test the field device and / or communication link. For example, technicians must use a portable power source to power the isolated field device. Also, the need to power an isolated field device may arise if the field device loses power due to a plant-wide outage or local power issue. As another example, technicians may simply take a field device offline for troubleshooting purposes to avoid negatively impacting other field devices and the rest of the process control system. Technicians also need to carry a multimeter to measure the available current, voltage, resistance, impedance, etc., on a segment or loop. Each of these tools can take up a significant amount of space and can be inconvenient to carry in the field. To address this issue of having to carry multiple tools, manufacturers have developed PTDs that include a power supply to power the HART loop. Unfortunately, these power-supply PTDs typically cannot power Fieldbus field devices. Additionally, typical portable power supplies and power delivery PTDs often do not comply with intrinsic safety (IS) standards and therefore cannot be safely used in hazardous areas (e.g., environments or atmospheres that may be explosive due to the presence of explosive gases or dust).

[0012] Additionally, when field devices are located in hazardous areas, technicians must verify that their tools operate in an intrinsically safe manner. Therefore, when in hazardous areas, technicians' tools must comply with IS standards to ensure safe operation. Generally, IS standards impose limitations on electrical equipment and wiring in hazardous environments to prevent them from exploding. To comply with IS standards, electrical equipment generally must be designed with two core concepts in mind: energy limitations and fault tolerance. Regardless, IS compliance requirements for certain applications have led to the development of field maintenance tools that operate with one or other of the above field device protocols and are IS compliant.

[0013] Similarly, as mentioned above, most process plants and other industrial facilities (oil well drilling platforms, pumping stations, etc.) also have industrial equipment such as rotating devices, power generation or conversion devices, vibration analysis devices, etc. that need to be assembled, configured, and maintained within the plant or industrial facility. You may also need a set of field maintenance tools to support it.

[0014] As a result, there are different types and brands of field maintenance tools available for use in a process plant in different sections of a plant or other industrial facility. Therefore, due to the need to maintain and configure various different devices and loops within a plant or other industrial facility, a plant manager may purchase and store multiple (or a group of) portable maintenance tools for use by plant maintenance personnel. In some cases, these devices are shared or checked out at different times by various different maintenance and other plant personnel and used as needed. In other cases, these portable devices may be assigned to a person, group, or the like and used as needed. In any case, as these portable devices become more sophisticated, they require more and more maintenance and support, including, for example, providing security features such as more software upgrades and using and managing password protection features. Because there are various numbers of portable devices that may be used within a plant, and because the portable devices within a plant may be different types or brands of devices, and because the portable devices may have different features requiring different types of support, etc., maintaining and managing these portable devices can be cumbersome and unwieldy. Furthermore, any particular portable device may be in use at any particular time and therefore may not be available with support upgrades when such upgrades are being performed, and a particular portable device may not be upgraded or may not receive the latest software and firmware features.

[0015] Because so many of these handheld maintenance tools are highly specialized to perform a small number of well-defined tasks, there has traditionally been no need to provide a large amount of on-board help information accessible to users in the field. For example, handheld communicators configured to communicate with field devices in a plant's process control system traditionally offered few options for displaying help content. Most help content was limited to describing a single option on the screen. If users needed more information, they had to refer to a printed or online manual remotely from the handheld communicator. This configuration issue meant that such help information was not accessible when needed when actually performing tasks in the plant. Summary of the Invention

[0016] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, an industrial portable apparatus is provided that includes a help application running on a processor and configured to display content related to how to use a functional module. In one configuration of the portable apparatus, the industrial portable apparatus includes a functional module configured to operably connect to and interact with field devices of an industrial plant, a processor configured to control the functional module, and an electronic display driven by a computer control system and configured to display information about the functional module to a user. The help application can be configured to display content on the display to the user.

[0017] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for providing help content to an industrial portable device, the system including a help server that provides the help content to a help application of the industrial portable device. In one configuration, the system includes a computer network within a plant. The computer network may include a fleet management station and a network access point operably connected by a first communication link. The industrial portable device includes a processor and at least one network access point configured to control functional interactions of the industrial portable device with field devices within the plant. The industrial portable device includes one control application, an electronic display, a help application executing on the processor for providing help information about the control application on the electronic display, and a second communication link configured to communicate with a network access point. The help server may be connected to the computer network and accessible by the network access point. The help server can provide help content to the help application of the industrial portable device via the network access point.

[0018] Any one or more of these aspects and configurations may further include any one or more of the following optional configurations and / or features.

[0019] The industrial portable device includes one or more control applications configured to execute on a processor and control one or more functions of a functional module. The help application can be configured to display content on a display regarding how to use the one or more control applications on the industrial portable device. The help application can operate independently of the control applications. The processor can be configured to update the content of the help application independently of the control applications. The processor can be configured to update the content of the help application regarding use of the one or more control applications separately from each of the control applications.

[0020] The functional modules form a field communicator configured to send and receive communication signals to and / or from field devices. The field communicator includes electronic circuitry configured to connect to field devices and / or buses connected to the field devices. The field communicator includes terminals configured to connect to and communicate with HART field devices and / or FOUNDATION Fieldbus field devices. The terminals are configured to connect to and provide power to the HART field devices or FOUNDATION Fieldbus field devices. The terminals are configured to measure current in a 4-20 mA current loop.

[0021] The industrial portable device may form an ammeter configured to connect to and test field devices and / or buses within a plant.

[0022] Industrial portable devices are inherently safe.

[0023] The industrial portable device is configured to receive help content without an internet connection and / or receive help content via an internet connection. The industrial portable device of claim 1 includes a web browser application running on the processor. The processor is configured to display content from the help application with the web browser on an electronic display. The browser application is configured to display the help content using HTML format.

[0024] The industrial portable device includes a communication link configured to connect the processor to a computer network. The communication link of the industrial portable device and the network access point form a wireless data communication link. The processor is configured to stream at least a portion of content from a remote source to the electronic display via the communication link. At least a portion of the streamed content includes an instructional video. At least a portion of the content may also be stored locally on the industrial portable device by the processor.

[0025] The help content is formatted to dynamically resize depending on the size and / or type of electronic display on the industrial portable device. The help application can dynamically change the display format of the content based on the size and / or type of electronic display. The help application and / or help server provides the content in HTML5 format.

[0026] The help server is configured to provide help content to the industrial portable device for updating the help application without modifying the control application.

[0027] The help server is configured to receive help content from an external server network outside the plant computer network and provide the received help content to the industrial portable device.

[0028] The help server is configured to automatically provide the received help content to the industrial portable device upon establishment of communication between a communication link of the industrial portable device and a network access point of the plant computer network.

[0029] Further optional and / or advantageous aspects, configurations, features, and / or technical effects will become apparent upon detailed examination of the drawings and the detailed description that follows. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system within a process plant that includes the use of industrial portable devices managed by a fleet management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a fleet management system that integrates in a distributed manner within a process plant or other industrial environment using a directly connected external fleet management server network. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a fleet management system that integrates in a distributed manner within a process plant or other industrial environment using an indirectly connected external fleet management server network. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a distributed and integrated fleet management system within a plant or other industrial environment using a fleet management server connected to other fleet management components within an external network. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram of an exemplary screen display generated by a fleet management server that allows a fleet manager to manage a particular device within a fleet of devices. [Figure 6] 3 is a block diagram of a fleet management system similar to FIG. 2, including a help content system for providing help content to industrial portable equipment and possibly other computerized device assets within a process plant environment. [Figure 7]1 is a front perspective view of an industrial handheld device in one aesthetic arrangement configured to obtain help content as part of a help content system. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a rear isometric view of the industrial portable device of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] 1 is a screenshot of a home screen that allows the selection and launch of various software applications, including a help application and various control applications, displayed on the electronic display of an industrial portable device. [Figure 10] 1 is a screenshot of a help topic screen of a help application for a Field Communicator application on an industrial handheld device. [Figure 11] 1 is a screenshot of the glossary screen of a help application. [Figure 12] 1 is a screenshot of a search results screen for a Help application. [Figure 13] 1 is a screenshot of a first portion of a help topic screen dynamically resized on a small electronic display screen. [Figure 14] 10 is a screenshot of a second portion of a help topic screen dynamically resized on a small electronic display screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram of an exemplary process control network 10 of a process or plant control system in which one or more handheld or portable tools, such as portable maintenance tools, are utilized to install, assemble, service, repair, diagnose, and otherwise support process control field devices, control loops, and other types of control devices within a plant. The process control network 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as including a first plant control network utilizing a wired communications network or link 10A having a process controller 11 connected to a data historian 12 and one or more host workstations or computers 13 (any type of personal computer, workstation, etc.), each having a display screen 14 and various other input / output devices (not shown). The process control network 10 may include one or more subnetworks containing multiple field devices, as shown in FIG. 1. The field devices are illustrated in FIG. 1 as field devices 15-22, which may be of any type used to control one or more plants within a plant.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 11 is connected to the field devices 15-22 via input / output (I / O) cards 26 and 28, thereby implementing any desired process control communication protocol, such as one or more of the following protocols: HART, Fieldbus, CAN, Profibus, etc. Furthermore, the data historian 12 may be any type of data collection and storage unit having any desired type of memory and any desired or known software, hardware, or firmware for storing data. The controller 11, in FIG. 1, is communicatively connected to the field devices 15-22 and controls the field devices 15-22 and, therefore, the plant. In general, the field devices 15-22 may be any type of device, and the I / O cards 26 and 28 may be any type of I / O device conforming to any desired communication or controller protocol. For example, the field devices 15-22 and / or the I / O cards 26 and 28 may be configured according to the HART protocol or the Fieldbus protocol. The controller 11 includes a processor 23 that executes or oversees one or more process control routines (or any modules, blocks, or subroutines thereof) stored in a memory 24. Generally, the controller 11 communicates with the devices 15-22, the host computer 13, and the data historian 12 to control the process in any desired manner. Additionally, the controller 11 implements control strategies or schemes using what are generally referred to as function blocks (not shown), each function block being the body of an overall control routine or other (e.g., subroutine) that operates in conjunction with other function blocks (through communications called links) to implement a process control loop within the process control system 10. A function block typically performs at least one of the following functions: an input function associated with a transmitter, sensor, or other process parameter measurement device; a control function associated with a control routine that performs control such as PID, fuzzy logic, or the like; or an output function that controls the operation of a device, such as a valve, to perform some physical function within the process control system 10.Of course, hybrid and other types of function blocks may exist and be utilized. The function blocks may be stored and executed on the controller 11 or on other devices.

[0033] Additionally, one or more portable or handheld devices, which may be a field device maintenance tool, a multimeter, a portable loop power supply, a field device configuration tool, etc. The handheld tool 100 is intermittently communicatively connected to one or more of the field devices 15-22 and / or to one or more buses or communication lines (e.g., HART loops, Fieldbus segments, etc.) to which the field devices 15-22 are connected. Such connections are illustrated by dashed lines in FIG. 1. Such network connections may include hardwired lines connecting one or more of the field devices 15-22 to the I / O cards 26 and 28. Alternatively, the tool 100 may be communicatively connected directly to one of the field devices 15-22 (e.g., via a communication terminal present on the field device 15-22). In some cases, the tool 100 may also provide power to the field device 15-22 or the wire loop to which it is connected. Additionally, the tool 100 enables a user to communicate with, assemble, perform maintenance on, and / or diagnose one or more of the field devices 15-22 when these field devices are installed in a plant. In still other cases, the tool 100 includes a wireless interface, such as a Bluetooth® interface, a Wi-Fi interface, or an interface such as a wireless process control protocol interface or connection using the WirelessHART protocol, that can be used to wirelessly connect to one or more field devices 15-22. The portable maintenance tool 100 described herein is described as one for assembling, supporting, and maintaining field devices. Thus, it is depicted as a field device communicator and may be used to support process measurement devices such as pressure, temperature, level, and flow analysis sensors, flow meters, valve positioners, and the like.However, tool 100 may be utilized to support, connect, maintain, communicate with, or otherwise use other types of equipment, including, for example, rotating equipment, vibration detection and analysis equipment, power generation equipment, switches, motors, pumps, compressors, drives, mechanical vessels such as tanks and pipes, power distribution equipment, switchgear, motor control centers, and other stand-alone equipment (e.g., equipment not communicatively connected to a process controller), etc. In these cases, tool 100 may also have a variety of different types of communication and power generation and sensing hardware (e.g., voltage, current, impedance, etc. generating and sensing devices) to maintain, assemble, and / or communicate with these other types of industrial equipment.

[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an expanded view of a plant network and communication system 110, in which a fleet management system 112 may be used to manage one or more fleets of portable devices (such as the portable device 100 of FIG. 1 ), or in some cases, fixed devices associated with or used in a plant environment or other industrial environment. The plant network and communication system 110 (or other industrial facility or environment) may include or be connected to an external server network 114 located at an external (relative to the plant) site, such as a cloud. The plant network and communication system 110 may further include interconnected communication networks at a plant site (or multiple plant sites or locations). In particular, the plant network illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a top-level network or business network 116, a plant management network 118, and a plant device network 120 connected to one or more control networks 122 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 2 ). As described below, the plant network 120 and control network 122 may be network 10 and its associated subnetworks for supporting the field devices 15-22 illustrated in FIG. 1 .

[0035] As shown in Figure 2, the business network 116 includes a set of business computers or workstations 128 capable of running business, accounting, planning, etc. applications, and the network 116 is connected to an external server system or network 114 through a firewall device 130. The business network 116 is connected to the plant network 120 via a management network 118 and a DMZ device or network 140. This network 140 acts as an intermediary between the networks. Generally speaking, the business network 116 includes multiple workstations 128 connected to a communication link 142 conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. Typically, the workstations 128 share an operating system with network capabilities, such as Windows® manufactured by Microsoft Corporation. Users of various organizational roles operate the workstations 128 to perform day-to-day activities within the plant, such as plant operator activities and business systems that manage the plant. For example, plant operators may be employed as engineers, accountants, marketing staff, and other personnel. Users operating the workstations 128 may have authorization privileges that typically do not allow these users to access the process plant network 120 or the process control network 122. However, these users have largely unrestricted access to hosts on the Internet, resulting in a relatively high risk of exposure to viruses, malware, hijacking attempts, and other cyber threats.

[0036] Similarly, management network 118 includes various computers or workstations connected via communication links 144 consistent with any suitable communication standard, such as the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. One or more of the workstations, shown as workstations 146 in FIG. 1 , operate as fleet management stations that include or are connected to a local content repository 147 that stores local content for various portable devices within the plant, as shown in FIG. 2 . Similarly, management network 118 includes one or more network access points 148, which may be wireless access points that allow one or more portable devices 150 (each having a wireless interface) to connect to network 118 in a wireless manner. Thus, content can be connected to fleet management station 146 to upload and download, as described in more detail herein.

[0037] Similarly, the plant network 120 may be the network 10A of FIG. 1 and includes various computers or workstations 160, data historians 162, and the like, as examples of fixed assets or fixed equipment, connected via communication links 164 consistent with any suitable communication standard, such as the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet protocol. The network 120 is connected to the process control network 122 via access points 166. The access points 166 may be, for example, firewalls or control devices. Generally speaking, the workstations 160 are operator workstations that allow process or control operators to view the ongoing operation of devices (e.g., controllers, field devices) in the process control network 122 and perform plant or online control. These workstations include various applications that allow personnel, such as operators and maintenance personnel, to perform various analyses on control assets, such as field devices, and other types of assets, such as rotating devices, vibrating devices, and power generation facilities. As shown in FIG. 2, one or more of the workstations, shown as workstations 168, operate as fleet management stations that include or are connected to a local content repository 170 that stores local content for various portable devices 180 within the plant. The fleet management station 168 operates to manage the various local content for the fixed devices, and the local content repository 170 stores various local content for the fixed devices. Similarly, the plant network 120 includes one or more network access points 172, which are wireless access points, and one or more portable devices 180 (respectively have wireless communication interfaces) connect to network 120 and thus to fleet management station 168, allowing content to be uploaded and downloaded, as described below. Portable devices 150 and 180 may include multiple devices of the same type (e.g., field communicators, oscilloscopes, ammeters, etc.) or may include devices of different types, as well as devices made by different manufacturers or with different capabilities.

[0038] As described below, the control network 122 includes various control devices and subnetworks, such as controllers, input / output (I / O) devices, and field devices connected proprietaryly or via process control networks, such as HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Profibus, CAN, etc., and these subnetworks may use any desired process control protocol. In general, the portable devices 150 and 180 may be used to perform maintenance, checks, repairs, tests, calibrations, and assembly activities on these devices and subnetworks. Similarly, a plant or other industrial facility may include other types of devices, such as vibration analysis and monitoring devices, rotating devices, and power generation facilities, not shown in FIG. 2 . These devices are serviced, maintained, installed, repaired, tested, and calibrated using one or more portable devices 150 and 180.

[0039] The DMZ layer or device 140 operates to separate the process control layers or networks 120 and 122, as well as the plant or industrial facility device network and management network 118, from the Internet or other external or public networks, such as the industrial LAN network 116 and the external network 114. In the example communication system 110 of FIG. 2, the plant LAN layer or business network 116 is connected to the Internet or other public network through a router / firewall 130, and the plant DMZ layer 140 is connected to the plant LAN layer or business network 116 through a router / firewall as part of the DMZ 140, as shown in FIG.

[0040] The plant DMZ 140 includes several servers, such as antivirus servers, data servers, and historian servers. DMZ layer 140 is generally known to provide additional security to local or plant networks, such as networks 118, 120, and 122, by limiting direct exposure to a larger network, such as the Internet, to only a few hosts (i.e., antivirus servers, data and historian servers, DNS servers, web servers, etc.). It should be noted that DMZ layer or device 140 may generally be any intermediate network layer that improves security and ensures communication between systems 118, 120, and 122 by directing all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic through one or more hosts that implement security functions.

[0041] Additionally, the fleet management system 112 of Figure 2 includes various components located on different ones of the networks of Figure 2. In particular, the fleet management system 112 includes portable devices 150 and 180 used within the plant or other industrial networks 118, 120, 122, and various components within the external or cloud-based network 114, including, for example, fleet management stations 146 and 168 and associated local content repositories 147 and 170, end-user repository 190, notifier 192, content determiner 194, and content downloader 196, which generally work together to determine the content that needs to be downloaded to the various ones of the portable devices 150 and 180. In this case, the fleet management system 112 is shown as residing on the external or cloud-based network 114. The mobile devices 150 and 180 may also be connected to and receive information from one or more business systems or computers 199 connected to the fleet management system 112. The business systems 199 may be used to purchase or acquire new content for one or more of the mobile devices 150 and 180 and may provide intent for such purchase or license to the fleet management system 112 in the form of a license key, code, or the like. Similarly, the various firewall and DMZ devices 130 and 140 include programming or configuration for the fleet management system 112 that enables secure communications between the fleet management stations 146 and 168 and the fleet management components within the external network 114. Additionally, the fleet management stations 146 and 168 include communications software that enables these devices to navigate the DMZ and firewall devices 130 and 140 and communicate with the external network 114 in a secure manner through these devices.

[0042] More specifically, the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 include field communicators, calibrators, and other types of portable devices used in industrial facilities, such as industrial plants, process plants, oil wells, pumping stations, etc., to configure, troubleshoot, calibrate, and perform other operations on field devices, such as rotating devices (e.g., turbines), power generation devices, vibration analysis and detection devices, and other types of devices or assets used in industrial facilities. Of course, different types and brands of industrial portable devices may be manufactured by the same or different manufacturers, and various types of industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may have different features and capabilities. For example, some of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may be field communicators that communicate with field devices, such as HART or Fieldbus field devices, over one or more of the various subnetworks 122 within the plant. Some of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may also be calibrators or configurators that calibrate or configure devices within the plant, including field devices and other types of devices, such as rotating devices, vibration analyzers, etc. Additionally, some of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may be or have electrical test functionality, such as ammeters, voltmeters, ohmmeters, impedance meters, or multimeters for testing wiring and other devices, such as power supplies, within a plant. Similarly, some of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may be intrinsically safe and therefore may be used in hazardous environments. Some of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 may be specially configured portable devices manufactured by various manufacturers, or may be implemented as software functions or hardware implemented in or connected to a general-purpose computer, such as a laptop, phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or tablet computer.Additionally, portable devices 150 and 180 may be grouped into one or more fleets of portable devices in any manner, for example, using one of fleet management stations 146, 168, based on functionality, use, type, manufacturer, user, etc., or any combination of these and other characteristics.

[0043] Additionally, fleet management stations 146 and 168, in the present example, are computers or workstations located at end-user sites or plants and having processors running associated fleet management software 203. These devices are used as user interfaces by plant or fleet managers to, for example, manage each identified fleet of industrial portable devices within the plant. More specifically, these computers are used by fleet managers of portable (or fixed) devices to perform some or all of the activities described below in connection with automatically and semi-automatically managing content onboard fleets of industrial portable devices 150 and 180, as well as content onboard fleets of fixed devices, as appropriate. Similarly, local content repositories 147 and 170 store content for portable devices 150 and 180. A database that stores content locally (optionally for stationary devices) that is downloaded at the end user's site before or after it is downloaded to the various portable devices 150 and 180 or stationary devices.

[0044] Additionally, an internal communications network at an end user's site, e.g., a plant, typically includes multiple isolated networks, such as a business network 116, a plant network 120, and a control network 122, and an interworking or DMZ device 140 executes software that runs on existing routers within the plant to interconnect these networks. As an example, the DMZ software maintains network isolation but performs port reassignment that allows computers or industrial devices on the plant networks 118, 120 to securely access external networks, including the external cloud network 114. As used herein, the networks 116, 118, 120, 122 and their connected devices may be considered to be in the same general location, referred to as a first or second location, or these networks and devices may be considered to be in different locations.

[0045] However, in at least one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the fleet management system 112 includes components in an external cloud or server system (IT system, infrastructure, etc.) outside the plant network. This external network includes a content determiner 194, a software mechanism typically running on the external cloud's IT infrastructure (server, processor, etc.), that evaluates several different input criteria and determines how filtered / targeted content a particular industrial portable device (or content that a particular fixed device has) at a particular customer site should have and use. Generally speaking, the content determiner 194 stores or receives inputs detailing the functionality, programming, operating system, upgrades, etc. (all referred to as content), obtains configuration information indicating configuration parameters of the industrial portable device 150, 180 or fixed device, and determines what content each industrial portable or fixed device contains. Additionally, the content downloader 196 connects to the content determination device 194 to provide an efficient and secure connection for downloading content to the industrial device as specified by the content determination device 194 via the external and internal networks of the plant where the industrial portable or fixed device is used or located.

[0046] Additionally, the source content repository 198 stores all content available for download to the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 (or fixed devices, as appropriate) and provides that content to the content downloader 196 when it needs to be downloaded to the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 (or fixed devices) within the plant. The notifier 192 is a module (e.g., software running on a processor) that sends notifications to users when content becomes available or is determined to be downloadable to a particular industrial device, such as when the content system 194 determines that new content has been acquired (e.g., licensed or purchased) using one of the business system computers 199. Typically, the business system computers 199 include user account and authentication, purchasing, order management systems, application or feature stores, etc., used to acquire new content. Finally, end-user information repository 190 is a database and communications module that collects and stores end-user information regarding a current detailed listing of the contents and versions of each industrial portable device in a fleet of industrial portable devices 150 and 180 and / or each fixed device in a fleet of fixed devices in a plant or other industry.

[0047] It should be noted that the components of the fleet management system 112 located within the external cloud network 114 can be used to support various different fleets of portable and / or stationary equipment within the same or different plants. That is, the fleet management components 190-199 of FIG. 2 are configured to store, retrieve, and download fleet information for multiple different industrial portable equipment for the same or different plants. Furthermore, in some cases, the fleet management system components 190-199 may be associated with or provided by a vendor and may be leased or used by different plants (e.g., on a subscription basis) to support different fleets of portable equipment within different plants owned or operated by different users. The devices or components 190-199 are shown in FIG. 2 as part of the external network 114 and may be separate from or in different locations than the devices within networks 116, 118, 120, and 122. However, although devices 190-199 may be part of different clouds or remote networks that are physically separate from one another in an actual implementation, these devices may be referred to herein as being at a single location or on a single network, such as a first or second location, indicating that they are at different locations or locations distributed from the location of the plant or industrial facility asset in which devices 150, 180 are located. Thus, devices 190-199 may be physically separate from one another and connected to different remote networks, and yet these devices, as that term is used herein, may be considered to be at a single location or on a single network.

[0048] Generally, the fleet management system 112 operates at two levels: basic control and general optimization of portable or fixed device content is performed or specified by a plant manager using fleet management stations 146 and 168 within the plant where the fleet of portable or fixed devices is located, while decisions regarding downloading content, notification of which portable or fixed devices within the plant should be provided with which specific content, and content tracking of portable or fixed devices are performed by devices or modules within the external network 114.

[0049] More specifically, a fleet manager first connects to the various portable devices (and / or fixed devices) in the fleet via network access points 148, 172 or via a communications network within a plant or other industrial facility and collects data from the portable or fixed devices that defines or identifies the content, manufacturer, capabilities, etc. of each portable or fixed device in the fleet. Of course, such content can also be entered manually into the fleet management system 112 via fleet management stations 146, 168. This content information is sent to the external network 114, passed through the DMZ 140 and firewall 130, and retrieved by and stored in the end-user information repository 190.

[0050] Repository 190 stores an indication of the contents of each of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180 in the identified fleet and / or the contents of each of the fixed devices in the identified fleet. More specifically, repository 190 stores information regarding the identity of each portable device (or fixed device) under its management, such as make, model number, manufacturer, revision number, etc., as well as instructions of usage restrictions, features, software and firmware stored on the portable device (including applications, device drivers, etc.), applied updates or upgrades, configuration settings or applied settings, etc. In this manner, repository 190 stores information about each of the industrial portable or fixed devices in each fleet of industrial portable or fixed devices used in a plant or other industrial facility, either provided by the device itself or by a fleet management station 146, 168 used to manage the device. The storage 190 may periodically poll for this information, or the information may be periodically transmitted by the fleet management stations 146, 168, or may be transmitted whenever the fleet manager desires to transmit the information, or when new information is otherwise obtained from the portable devices 150, 180 or the fixed devices.

[0051] Additionally, if desired, the user device repository 190 can receive configuration information from one or more fleet management stations 146, 168 indicating which portable and / or stationary devices are associated with which fleets, and can receive configuration information, i.e., forms or other configuration information completed and provided by the fleet manager, indicating further subgroups or categories of portable and / or stationary devices within the managed fleet. For example, a fleet manager can specify a configuration level or group for one or more portable or stationary devices within the fleet (e.g., Level 1 or Level 2 devices), with each level of device having different configuration parameters and therefore handling the device differently depending on what the parameters allow. Additionally, in some cases, the fleet manager can impose user restrictions on the use of each device within various fleets. These user restrictions indicate which users or groups of users can use which devices, which devices can use in which areas of the plant, or which devices, networks, etc., within the plant or other plant environment can be serviced. In some cases, a fleet manager for the plant or a fleet manager for portable or fixed devices fills out a form (e.g., on a fleet management workstation 146, 168, etc.) indicating the categories, usage or content restrictions, etc. of the various devices in the fleet and stores this form and information in the end-user device information repository 190.

[0052] During operation of the fleet management system 112, a content determiner 194 connected to the business system computer or network 199 periodically, upon request, or at any time, reviews all information it receives from the business system for a particular industrial portable or fixed device (indicating new content that is available or authorized) and compares that content with the content indicated by the repository 190 that is actually stored on the portable or fixed device. If new content is available for a particular industrial portable or fixed device and can be provided to the portable or fixed device as specified in that device's configuration form or information stored in the repository 190, the content determiner 194 initiates a message to the notifier 192 that sends a message or notification that new content is available and / or authorized for use for the particular industrial portable or fixed device. This message or notification is transmitted to the fleet management stations 146 and 168 via the various networks 116, 118, and 120 and various firewalls or intermediaries 130 and 140; similarly, the content downloader 196, upon request by one of the fleet management stations 146 and / or 168, retrieves new content from the storage 198 using other networks and downloads the content to one or more of the fleet management stations 146 and 168, which store the content in their local repositories 147 and / or 170. Then, when a portable or fixed device that has the new content available connects to one of the fleet management stations 146, 168, for example, via a network access point 148, 172 or other network connection within the appropriate network 118, 120, the fleet management station 146, 168 can download the new content to the portable or fixed device 150, 180 or the fixed device to update or upgrade the portable or fixed device. When this fleet management station 146, 168 notifies the hangar 190 of the download, the hangar 190 receives the new This indicates that content is currently located within or part of the industrial portable device 150, 180 or the fixed device. Of course, an administrator of the fleet management system 112 can configure procedures for acquiring and downloading new content based on newly available content determined by the content determiner 194, but this can be automated, semi-automated, or manual. That is, content updates and downloads can be performed automatically, for example, whenever an industrial portable or fixed device connects to one of the plant networks 118, 120, and new content is provided to the device as automatically determined by the content determiner 194. Similarly, this update can be initiated by the fleet management system 112 checking the connected industrial portable or fixed devices for new content and notifying the administrator via one of the fleet management stations 146, 168. For example, the administrator can be notified that new content is available for download to the portable device. The administrator can authorize the download at one of the fleet management stations 146, 168, and the download occurs. In another scenario, an administrator may manually perform a check for new content on a particular portable or stationary device and allow or authorize downloads if new content is available.

[0053] Additionally, as previously indicated, a fleet manager can set up or configure forms to instruct the fleet manager to download content automatically, semi-automatically, manually, or not at all, thereby giving the fleet manager the ability to control which content is sent to which portable or stationary devices and how this content is downloaded. Similarly, there may be a situation where one of the business systems purchases a set of licenses for new content but does not have enough licenses for all of the industrial portable or stationary devices. In this case, the fleet manager, using, for example, the configuration module 201 in the fleet management stations 146 and 168, creates a configuration form that allows the user to indicate which portable or stationary devices should or should not get the newly licensed content. This configuration information is sent to the repository 190, and the content determination device 194 uses this configuration information to determine which portable devices can have the new downloadable content.

[0054] Generally speaking, the content determination module 194 provides the fleet management system 112 with the ability to filter and target content to individual end-user industrial devices based on a number of different criteria, such as making updated content available in the source content repository 198 based on new content becoming available through purchase, licensing, etc., changing or implementing new configuration information for a fleet of devices, acquiring new industrial portable or fixed devices within the fleet, changing individual device configuration parameters such as assigning a portable or fixed device to a new class or content level, assigning a portable or fixed device to a new or different use within a plant, assigning new security features to a portable or fixed device, or having security features that allow device use by any number of people or groups within a plant with any number of field devices or networks or other types of devices, etc. (all represented or configured in configuration templates created using the configuration module 201). Additionally, the fleet management system 112 may securely extract customer system information from the industrial portable or fixed devices and provide that information to the external cloud network 114, where it may be used to provide added value to these end users. Additionally, the content determiner 194 provides the ability or functionality to filter, target, and download content to appropriate industrial portable or fixed devices based on various criteria, determining what content to download to a particular customer or plant site and the specific industrial requirements for that site. It issues instructions as to what content to install on portable or fixed devices. Additionally, the content decision making device 194 performs decision making in a central location, enabling access to multiple locations from a specific customer site as well as multiple different customer sites.

[0055] As will be appreciated from the above description, the content determiner 194 is a software mechanism that runs on the IT infrastructure (processors and memory) within the cloud network 114 (although it can also run on a local computer within the plant) that evaluates a number of different input criteria and determines the filtered / targeted content that a particular industrial portable or fixed device at a particular plant or customer site is eligible to receive. The content determiner 194 may also use as input criteria a complete list of available content, versions, and related information, the ID or other identification of each particular industrial device, information about the content and version of that content currently installed on each industrial portable and / or fixed device in the fleet, service contract information for each industrial portable or fixed device in the fleet (e.g., if each device is properly licensed for a particular use or for particular content), information about one or more users to whom the industrial portable or fixed device is assigned (user defined as a group of authorized users, a type of user, a specific user, a designation of external users versus internal users that can use the device, one or more user companies or organizations, etc.), configuration information provided in the form of templates, such as information identifying the level or nature of content that each particular industrial portable or fixed device should receive, the class (i.e., class of appropriate content) of each portable or fixed device, etc. Output from the content determiner 194 may include, but is not limited to, a list of content items, versions, and other related information available to one or more industrial portable or fixed devices, and may include notification to users or fleet managers of industrial portable or fixed devices that new rights / updated content is available.

[0056] The content determiner 194 can apply or download new or different content to a particular industrial portable or fixed device at any time, such as on demand, when an event occurs, such as when new content is added to the content repository 198. Generally speaking, the content determiner 194 can evaluate whenever there is a state change that potentially affects one or more industrial portable or fixed devices. Such state changes may occur as a result of new, upgraded, or modified content being provided to the content repository 198; when a business system computer 199 notifies the user that new content has been licensed, purchased, or acquired; when an additional license for old content is acquired; when a new order is processed, such as for a particular industrial portable device or content purchased for such device; when a new service contract is initiated; when a service contract expires; when one of the fleet management stations 146, 168 makes or provides changes to one of one or more configuration templates for an industrial portable or fixed device; etc. When implemented, the content determination module 194 evaluates the inputs previously described and determines what new content and versions each particular industrial portable or fixed device is entitled to receive, and returns a list of such content and versions to the fleet management station 146, 168 for download to the device.

[0057] In an exemplary scenario, a customer or plant site industrial portable equipment manager may monitor the status of the industrial portable equipment 150 from a fleet management station 146, 168 within the plant or from an industrial portable equipment , 180, the fleet manager can perform fleet management activities for a large number of industrial portable devices 150, 180 directly from the external cloud network 114. The fleet manager can request a list of content updates available for these particular industrial portable device(s) from the external cloud network 114. The external cloud network 114 activates a content determination module 194 to determine what updates, new content, etc. are available for the particular industrial portable device(s). The content determination module 194 then collects several inputs, including information about the content, such as content stored in a source content repository 198 currently installed on each industrial portable device from the repository 190, service contracts for the industrial portable devices, configuration information for the industrial portable devices provided by the fleet manager, or information about the device itself. The content determination module 194 then creates a response containing a list of content and versions that the particular industrial portable device is entitled to have but has not yet based on this information. The content determination module 194 then returns a response to the application indicating the new or different content for the industrial portable device. This process may be repeated for each different industrial portable device in the fleet.

[0058] This mechanism allows the fleet management system 112 to match content to a particular industrial portable device 150, 180 (or fixed device), ensure that the appropriate content is downloaded to the portable or fixed device, and ensure that only that content is downloaded to the portable device. Additionally, this mechanism collects and evaluates various inputs from various sources to create and return a list of eligible content and versions for a particular industrial portable or fixed device.

[0059] The fleet management system 112 described herein can configure, troubleshoot, calibrate, and perform other operations on field devices such as field communicators, calibrators, and other industrial portable devices used in industrial facilities (e.g., plants), and can maintain other devices and assets in an orderly and easily visible manner, including managing updates to software, drivers, and the like. Additionally, the fleet management system 112 allows for efficient customization and configuration of different portable and fixed devices within a fleet, which is advantageous as industrial portable and fixed devices become more complex and have more features, software applications, functions, and the like.

[0060] Similarly, the fleet management system 112 allows end users, who often own multiple or various industrial portable or stationary devices, to easily manage these devices. Specifically, the fleet management system 112 allows end users to easily and systematically update the content of their industrial portable and stationary devices. This allows end users to effectively and efficiently update content, ensuring reliable operation of their industrial portable and stationary devices by using the latest software, drivers, and other content. The system also allows users to limit the content loaded on their industrial portable and stationary devices to only what they need. Excessive software, field device drivers, and other content can clutter industrial portable or stationary devices, making them more difficult to use. As a result, the fleet management system 112 is advantageous in terms of user efficiency, as it allows fleet managers to provision or designate frequently used, targeted content, such as applications and drivers, to all or a portion of their fleet of industrial devices. Similarly, a user may customize one or more of the industrial portable or fixed devices for different classes of users, different individual users, different classes or types of use, and the like.

[0061] Additionally, the fleet management system 112 provides efficiencies by allowing administrators to create, assemble, and reuse configuration templates that define basic and various high-level configurations and configuration parameters for multiple industrial portable (or stationary) devices. That is, an administrator can use one of the configuration modules 201 (e.g., executing on a processor in the fleet management station 146, 168) to create a template that defines the content to be installed on a portable or stationary device, resulting in a specific type or level of device that can be used in a plant or other industrial facility. Furthermore, a set of two or more industrial portable or stationary devices can be configured at the level created using this template. Additional templates can also be created or configured to create different levels or types of devices. Alternatively, an administrator can simply modify a configuration template to change the content for all devices that use that template, upload the new configuration template to the user device information repository 190, and the fleet management system 112 can automatically determine if new content is available and download it for devices that are applicable to or covered by the updated template, as defined in the updated template. This process can also work in reverse by removing features or content from the template. That is, the fleet management system 112 can use this configuration template to remove or uninstall software, features, or other content from industrial portable or fixed devices. Either way, this template-based configuration allows administrators to automatically configure groups of identical or different devices using different templates.

[0062] Additionally, the fleet management system, and in particular the content determiner 194, may automatically remove content from one or more industrial portable or fixed devices when, for example, a particular license for that content or an application related to that content expires, a service contract for an industrial portable or fixed device expires, etc. In this case, based on the input provided, the content determiner 194 may recognize whether a particular device has excessive or unauthorized content based on updated license information and send a message accordingly to the fleet management station managing the device to remove the content that is no longer permitted or authorized.

[0063] In still other cases, the fleet management system 112 may be used to automatically restore or reconfigure particular devices in the fleet of devices, for example, when the device is reset, cleaned (upgraded), or suffers a catastrophic memory failure. Here, the content repository 198 may store configuration information for portable or stationary devices in the fleet of devices under its management or service. Such configuration information may include, for example, device and application settings, including operating system settings, specific application settings, security settings, user interface settings, peripheral device connection settings, etc. In this manner, the source content repository 198 may download user-created content (e.g., content created or generated by users of devices in the fleet and sent to the fleet management system 112) and content (e.g., content developed and / or provided by third parties, such as device manufacturers or application providers) to devices included in the fleet. In any event, if a device in a fleet suffers a memory failure, is reset, upgraded, serviced to remove content, etc., the device will, at some point after coming online, notify the fleet management station currently servicing that device of the new content (or reduced set content) that is currently on that device. The application may poll the device for this information. The fleet management station provides a new list of its content to the end-user information repository 190, which stores this information. Then, when the content determiner 194 operates to determine whether new content is available for the device, the content determiner 194 determines that the content that was deleted due to a malfunction or service operation is available for download and causes that content to be downloaded to the device in the manner described above. As part of this process, the content determiner 194 can recognize that the device's configuration content currently stored in the content repository 198 differs from the device's current configuration provided to the end-user information repository 190, and can provide the device with the configuration information stored in the content repository 198 as part of the download. In this way, the device is restored to its original content and configuration state before the failure, making device recovery much easier and more time-saving.

[0064] Additionally, the fleet management system 112 provides a high level of administrator control, allowing device or plant owners the ability to define the level of flexibility, versus the consistency of portable device configuration, versus the control of portable devices, that will be allowed or used in the configuration of industrial portable and stationary devices within a plant or other industrial environment. The fleet management system 112 also enforces security in the configuration and use of industrial portable and stationary devices, such as the industrial portable devices 150, 180. For example, the industrial portable and stationary devices can only be modified or changed via the fleet management stations 146, 168, which have secure access to new content downloaded to the industrial portable devices 150, 180 and stationary devices. Similarly, the fleet management system 112 allows administrators to set usage privileges for portable or stationary portable or stationary devices and maintain these privileges using configuration templates and other configuration data stored in the user device information repository 190. In this manner, administrators can configure individual portable or fixed devices for use not only with specific personnel (e.g., users and passwords), but also at specific locations or points in the plant, (only in non-hazardous environments), or any combination thereof. Additionally, the fleet management system 112 described herein can manage all content within portable and / or fixed devices (including limiting content loaded onto and removed from portable or fixed devices), conserving limited memory and resources within industrial portable and fixed devices.

[0065] As used herein, industrial portable device “content” is intended to include any software item installed on the industrial portable device, including, but not limited to, (1) software applications, (2) field device drivers such as device descriptors (DDs), (3) device packages and other drivers, such as drivers for other types of devices to which the industrial portable device can connect wired or wirelessly, (4) user assistance, including user manuals, online help, instructional videos, etc., (5) technology-based artifacts (knowledge base articles, support posts, etc.), (6) upgraded features, such as new software or firmware features, and (7) configuration information for the industrial portable or fixed device. Thus, as noted above, content can include third-party content, such as provided by device manufacturers, application providers, application or device licensors or service providers, etc., and user-created content, such as configuration content for devices, operating systems, applications, device drivers, security, etc., and settings created by users or fleet managers who use or manage the device.

[0066] Thus, the fleet management system 112 for industrial portable devices described herein generally includes uploading content or descriptions of content from the industrial portable or stationary devices to a centralized storage and configuration system or repository, downloading new content to the industrial portable or stationary devices from a centralized server system that manages the content onboard the industrial portable or stationary devices, and controlling the content, security, user history, etc. of each industrial portable or stationary device in the fleet using one or more fleet management stations under the control of a plant operator or user. Of course, there can be many different deployments of the fleet management system 112 described herein. The solution provides key functionality, including (1) secure, full content updates from sources outside the end user's internal network, such as IT or external cloud infrastructure, (2) securely extracting customer system information from industrial portable or fixed devices within the plant network and providing that information to fleet management devices or modules within the external cloud network, and (3) controlling what content is and isn't on the industrial portable and fixed devices within the fleet (e.g., targeting content to specific industrial portable and fixed devices within the fleet). Such control is provided through download control via licensing, service contract enforcement, and end-user customization, for example, by allowing administrators or end users of industrial portable or fixed devices to use templates or configuration forms that can be applied to multiple industrial portable or fixed devices or units to customize individual units, yet that can only be customized by authorized administrators and end users, and by providing user authentication and field device access from industrial portable and fixed devices to control access to field devices or other types of plant or industrial equipment.

[0067] Additionally, in accordance with this system, security management is provided by providing, enforcing, and controlling user authentication / login procedures for individual industrial portable and fixed devices, and by providing user authentication and field device access from industrial portable service devices and fixed devices to control access to field devices or other types of plant or industrial equipment. Similarly, secure solutions are provided at different plant network levels by providing network isolation between external networks, customer office networks, and customer plant networks. That is, content security is provided by encryption, content signing, etc., and communication pipe security allows messages and files to be securely communicated and transferred between different networks.

[0068] As an example of a particular application, the fleet management system 112 described herein may operate to update one or more industrial portable devices with targeted content after a customer purchases new content. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2 , the customer (or plant owner or manager) orders the new content, for example, via a business system computer 199 in the external cloud network 114. Once the content purchase (or license or other acquisition) is complete, the business system computer 199 notifies the content ordering module 194 of the new order or available content for one or more of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180. The content determination module 194 then obtains, for example, (1) a complete list of content and versions available from the source content repository 198 via the content downloader module 196; (2) a complete list of the current content and versions for one or more of the industrial portable devices 150 and 180, as well as configuration templates for those devices, from the end-user device information repository 190; (3) service contract information from the business system computer 199; and (4) the specific industrial portable device for which the content was purchased from the business system computer 199. The content determination module 194 then evaluates one or more industrial portable devices to determine whether new content is available for each of the specific industrial portable devices (if provided or specified), and whether it is permitted by the configuration template and current configuration information or settings (if provided or specified), and notifies the notification module 192 when one or more industrial portable devices have new content. The notification module 192 then sends a notification to a fleet manager at one of the fleet management stations 146 and 168 via email, text message, or some other electronic notification method, for example, via secure network-to-network communication, indicating that there is new content available for download for one or more industrial portable devices 150, 180.

[0069] Next, using one of the fleet management stations 146, 168, the customer administrator initiates a "check for updates" request to the external cloud network 114, receives the check for updates request, and sends the request to the content determiner 194. The content determiner 194 assembles a complete list of available content and versions from the source content repository 198, i.e., a complete list of current content and versions for the particular industrial portable device from the end-user device information repository 190, obtains service contract information from the business system computer 199, and receives the device ID of the particular industrial portable device from the business system computer 199, and again performs an evaluation regarding new content to be provided to one or more industrial portable devices. The determination module 194 then sends back to the fleet management station 146, 168 a list of target content and versions that each of the particular industrial portable devices is entitled to receive.

[0070] At the fleet management station 146, 168, the customer administrator initiates a content download from the source content repository 198 in the external cloud network 114 using secure communications through the various site networks and firewalls 130 and DMZ 140. The new content is then downloaded and loaded into the local content repository 147, 170. Next, when a particular industrial portable device connects to the appropriate fleet management station 146, 168 via a wireless network connectivity device or access point 148, 172, the fleet administrator initiates installation of the content from the local content repository 147, 170 onto that industrial portable device. Once the content has been installed on a particular industrial portable device, the fleet management station 146, 168 notifies the external cloud network 114, and in particular the end-user device information repository 190, that the content has been installed on that particular industrial portable device. The end-user device information repository 190 then updates the files or records of that industrial portable device to include the new content, and the source content repository 198 stores updated configuration information for the device if configuration settings, etc. Of course, the fleet management system 112 may operate in a similar manner to remove content from the industrial portable device as needed, or simultaneously install content.

[0071] In another scenario, the fleet management system 112 can update one or more industrial portable devices 150, 180 with target content, for example, after a new content version is made available in the source content repository 198. In this case, a new version of a particular content item, such as a software application, is added to the source content repository 198 in the external cloud network 114. The source content repository 198 then updates the new content item version in the cloud network 114. The system 112 then notifies the content determiner 194, which performs all of the tasks described above to determine which of the industrial portable devices should receive the new content. The system 112 then provides the new content item version to one or more industrial portable devices in the manner described above.

[0072] In another exemplary embodiment, the fleet management system 112 can be configured to eliminate network connectivity between, for example, an end-user's business network or plant LAN 116 and the external cloud network 114 for security purposes. In this case, the fleet management system 112 can be configured as shown in FIG. 3 , where like elements are numbered the same as in FIG. 2 . However, it is noted that the system 112 of FIG. 3 eliminates the firewall 130 and the connection between the networks 114 and 116, thereby requiring manual flow of information and content between the external network or system 114 and the plant or end-user site. Instead, a manufacturing station 210 is connected to the network 114, which receives notifications of downloads or changes to content to be downloaded, particularly content stored on portable or fixed devices. The manufacturing station 210 is used to store its content and information in a secure formant on a hard drive, flash drive, CD, or some other external or portable storage medium. This content and information is then manually provided to one of the fleet management stations 146, 168 via an external drive mechanism.

[0073] Thus, in one scenario, using the fleet management system 112 of Figure 3, industrial portable devices 150, 180 or stationary devices may be updated with targeted content after a user purchases new content in a disconnected deployment environment, as shown in Figure 3. Here, a customer orders the new content via an external business system computer 199, for example, in the external cloud network 114. The business system computer 199 notifies the content ordering module 194 of the new order. The content determination module 194 then collects information necessary to determine whether to provide the new content to one or more industrial portable or stationary devices based on this new content purchase. Of course, the content determination module 194 can collect and evaluate a complete list of available content and versions from the source content repository 198, a complete list of current content and versions for a particular industrial portable or stationary device from the end-user device information repository 190, service contract information from the business system computer 199, and, as needed, configuration forms or templates created by a fleet manager and stored in the end-user device information repository 190 that define, for example, the type of content to be loaded onto a particular industrial portable or stationary device, the device ID of the particular industrial portable or stationary device, and the device's current configuration settings stored in the hangar 198. If, after its evaluation, the content determination module 194 determines that new content is available for a particular industrial portable device, it triggers the notification module 192. The notification module 192 then sends a notification to the customer or the manufacturer of the manufacturing station 210 indicating that new content is available for the customer's industrial portable device. This notification may be provided, for example, via email, Twitter, text, or other electronic format that does not directly use the networks 116, 118, 120.

[0074] Alternatively, at a later point in time, the manufacturer of the manufacturing station 210 can initiate a "check for updates" request to the external cloud network 114. The external cloud network 114 receives the "check for updates" request and passes the request to the content determiner 194. The content determiner 194 then checks for available content and versions. The content determination module 194 then obtains a complete list of applications from the source content repository 198, a complete list of current content and versions in the particular industrial portable device from the end-user device information repository 190, device configuration templates from the end-user device information repository 190, service contract information, the device ID of the particular industrial portable or stationary device from the business system computer 194, and the current configuration settings of the particular industrial portable or stationary device. The content determination module 194 evaluates whether content should be applied to one or more industrial portable or stationary devices and sends a list of target content and versions that the particular industrial portable or stationary device is entitled to back to the manufacturing station 210. Of course, the original notification from the notifier 192 can include a list of new content to be downloaded to the industrial portable device, and the manufacturing device 210 does not need to have the content determiner 194 re-evaluate the new content. However, this re-evaluation may be desirable if a predetermined amount of time has passed between the notification and the download. This also applies to the directly connected embodiment of FIG. 2.

[0075] In either case, the manufacturer of the manufacturing station 210 initiates the content download from the source content repository 198 in the external cloud network 114. After downloading the content, the content is burned onto portable media, which is then shipped or otherwise physically provided or transported to the plant's fleet manager. If necessary, the content determination module 194 can provide a key, password, code, or other security authentication to allow the manufacturer to download specific content; this key or authentication is required to initiate the download, thereby preventing unauthorized downloads. The content determination module 194 of FIG. 2 also performs this action. Additionally, the downloaded content can be coded to allow it to be installed only on industrial portable or fixed devices (device IDs) authorized by the content determination module 194.

[0076] The fleet manager then receives the portable media and uses the fleet management station 146, 168 to update the content on board the fleet management station's local content repository 146, 170. Then, when a particular industrial portable device connects to the network 118 or 120 or the fleet management station 146, 168, for example, via one of the network access points 148, 172, or when a particular fixed device connects to or is available on the network 118 or 120, the fleet manager initiates installation of the content on that industrial portable or fixed device as stored in the local content repository 147, 170. Once the content is installed, the fleet management station 146, 168 reports to the manufacturer that the content has been installed on this particular industrial portable or fixed device, or prompts the fleet manager to send an update regarding the current status of the industrial portable device (for example, via email, text message, or other electronic message back to the manufacturer). The fleet manager sends current device content state updates via email, text message, or other means to the manufacturer, who enters this information into the external cloud network 114 system via the manufacturing station 210. The external cloud network 114 then updates the end-user device information repository 190 with the latest current state (with device ID) of the industrial portable or stationary device.

[0077] Although two different fleet management system deployments and communications are described herein, it should be appreciated that there are many other applicable deployment methods that can be implemented using the basic components of the fleet management system 112 described herein. For example, the portable devices 150, 180 can be directly connected to the external cloud network 114 via a plant connection and can be updated and communicated. The external cloud network 114 may receive or process decisions on new content and provide all fleet management activities to the external cloud network 114, and some or all of the modules and devices in the external cloud network 114 may run within the plant network.

[0078] More specifically, FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a fleet management system having similar elements to those described in FIGS. 2 and 3. Similar reference numerals are used in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the system of FIG. 4, industrial portable devices 150 and 180 (and optionally some fixed devices) can be directly connected to external network 114, in which case fleet management station 146 or 168 may be located within external network 114, such as the cloud, or at a remote service site. As shown in FIG. 4, portable devices 150, 180 can connect to fleet management station 146 through firewall and DMZ devices 130 and 140 or directly through an internet or other public network connection (shown by a dotted line), and communicate with and receive information from fleet management station 146, which operates in much the same manner as described above, except that fleet management station 146 connects to devices 150 and 180 through a public or other external network connection. Communications between portable devices 150 and 180 (or other fixed devices within a plant or other industrial facility) may be performed via email, text messages, etc., although file downloads (and / or messaging) may only be performed via a direct, secured connection. Additionally, file downloads may be performed via email or other non-secure communications channels, but these communications may be encrypted and secured via security codes as described above.

[0079] Additionally, various components of the fleet management system 112 described herein may be located elsewhere. As shown in FIG. 4 , one or more of the fleet management stations 146, 168 may be hosted in the cloud or executed at a remote location. In these and other cases, the local repositories 147, 170 may still be located at the plant or other field of operation and communicate with the fleet management stations 146, 168 via an external network connection. Similarly, it should be understood that the fleet management station user interfaces (e.g., user interfaces that perform user interface activities with the fleet management stations 146, 168) are implemented using thin-client applications that provide a remote interface to the computing devices executing the configuration module 201 and the fleet management software application 203. As a result, these thin-client interfaces may be wireless devices, other workstations, and the like, at the same location or at a different location than the fleet management computing device or server. As another example, some or all of the devices or components 190-199, such as end-user information repository 190, may be provided in one of the networks within a plant or other industrial facility of Figures 2-4, as desired, so that most or all of the fleet management components are within the same plant or location. Of course, any particular one of components 190-199 may be within the plant network, while others may be in the cloud or a remote network.

[0080] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface screen 500 provided to a user by a fleet management station 146, 168 (e.g., by executing software modules 201 and 203 of FIGS. 2-4 ) to enable the user to manage various devices, check whether new content is available for one or more devices, enable downloading of new content, and enable remote uploading of user-created and configured content to one or more configurations, for example. The user generates or specifies configuration information to be included in forms, etc. In particular, screen portion 501 of FIG. 5 displays information about each of a set of industrial portable devices in a plant, or in general screen 502, associated with a particular fleet, including a graphical icon of the device, which may be different for different types of devices in the fleet. In this manner, the user can be indicated the type of device under management. Screen portion 501 also includes the device's serial number (504), a configurable device nickname (506), and a designation (508) of whether the device is part of a managed fleet. The top icons in designation 508 indicate that the device is part of a managed fleet, and selecting these icons allows the device to be removed or removed from the fleet. Similarly, the bottom icons in designation 508 indicate devices that are available but not associated with the current fleet, and selecting an icon can indicate the association of these devices with the fleet.

[0081] Additionally, icon 502 indicates the type of communication connection the fleet management station currently has with that device. In this case, the first device is USB connected, the second, fourth, and fifth devices are Wi-Fi connected, and the third device is not currently connected. Although not shown in FIG. 5, icon 502 may also include sub-icons or provide a further window (if selected or accessed via a hover event) that indicates whether one or more devices in screen 500 have new content available, as well as the type of content available. These sub-icons may also indicate that content needs to be deleted.

[0082] Similarly, screen 500 includes an action menu 510 that allows a user or fleet manager to take actions on a particular device or group of devices selected in screen portion 501. For example, by selecting an item in menu 510, a user can check for updates (as previously described herein), purchase applications or other new content, view what's in a local content repository (e.g., vaults 147, 170 of FIGS. 2-4), import content to a local storage device (from content repository 198 of FIGS. 2-4 or one of the local repositories), and export content from a local repository to a selected device in the fleet, or to either user information repository 190 or content repository 198 of FIGS. 2-4. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 5, menu 510 allows a user to manage the fleet by updating one or more devices, or by removing or adding devices to a fleet, creating or modifying the device configuration forms described above. Of course, screen 500 of Figure 5 illustrates merely one example of the type of information that may be displayed to a fleet manager to enable the fleet manager to take action as described herein. It will be appreciated that there are many other ways to display this and other information and provide a fleet manager with the ability to take various fleet management actions as described herein.

[0083] 6 illustrates a system for providing help content to industrial portable devices 150 and / or 180 within a plant at a customer site. The system includes a help server 250 connected to a computer network within the plant and configured to provide help content to one or more help applications of the industrial portable devices 150 / 180. The help server 250 stores and / or controls the distribution of the help content to various computerized devices within the plant. The help content may be provided to assist in the use of the computerized devices and / or computer applications stored on the computerized devices in any manner commonly understood in the art. The information may be in the form of a digital file containing information about the use of the device.

[0084] The system includes some or all of the features of the fleet management system shown in any of Figures 2-5. For ease of explanation, the system is shown with a help server 250 added to the extended plant network and communication system 110 of Figure 2. However, the system may also be implemented in a similar manner within the extended plant network and communication system 110 of Figures 3-4. For brevity, the description of features common to the examples of Figures 2-4 will not be repeated here, but the reader is referred to earlier discussions herein for details related to those individual features.

[0085] The help server 250 is connected to a computer network within the plant. In the illustrated example, the help server 250 is connected to the plant management network 118. However, the help server 250 may be connected to other computer networks within the plant, such as the process control network 122 and / or the business network 116. Preferably, the plant computer network includes at least one fleet management station, such as 146 or 168, and at least one network access point, such as 148 or 172. Additional devices may be connected to the computer network, for example, as described earlier herein. The fleet management station and the network access point are connected by a communication link, such as 142, 144, or 164. The help server 250 connected to the plant management network 118 is described in detail below. However, it will be understood that the help server 250 may be connected to other computer networks within the plant, and the description herein is equally applicable to connections to these other computer networks.

[0086] Help server 250 is connected to the computer network, for example, via communication link 144, so as to be accessible within the plant via network access point 148. Help server 250 is also accessible by fleet management station 146. Accordingly, fleet management station 146 may be configured to control the download and / or availability of help content to help server 250. Additionally or alternatively, help server 250 may be configured to form and / or in conjunction with a fleet management station to control the download and / or availability of content to and from help server 250. Help content may be loaded onto help server 250 in any operationally sufficient manner. In some configurations, the help content on the server may be controlled by fleet management system 112 according to the principles described above, and / or the help content may be provided to help server 250 by other means.

[0087] Industrial portable devices 150 and 180 can take any of many different forms, and the following description of device 150 applies equally to device 180. Preferably, industrial portable device 150 includes at least a processor, one or more control applications configured to control the functional interaction of the industrial portable device with field devices (e.g., field devices 15-22) in the plant, an electronic display that displays information to a user, a help application executing on the processor to provide help information to the user regarding the electronic display that displays the one or more control applications, and a communication link configured to communicate with network access points 148 and / or 172. Preferably, the communication link and network access point 148 include a wireless data transceiver to form a wireless data communication link between industrial portable device 150 and network access point 148, such as a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection. One exemplary industrial portable device configured for use with the system to provide help content is described in more detail below. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the system for providing help content need not be limited to the exemplary industrial handheld devices described below, and that other industrial handheld devices may be used in accordance with the principles disclosed herein.

[0088] The help server 250 provides help content to a help application resident on the industrial portable device 150 via the network access point 148. Because the help application resident on the industrial portable device 150 is separate and distinct from the various control applications resident on the industrial portable device, the help server 250 is configured to provide help content to the industrial portable device 150 without modifying the control applications. In this way, for example, the help content available to a user from the help application can be updated independently of any updates to the control applications.

[0089] In one configuration, Help Server 2 50 is , and is configured to receive help content from an external computer network outside the plant computer network. For example, help server 250 may be configured to receive help content from fleet management system 112. Fleet management system 112 can control that help information is provided to help server 250 and ultimately, optionally, to individual industrial portable devices 150, as previously described herein. In other configurations, help server 250 is configured to automatically provide the received help content to industrial portable devices 150 upon establishment of communication between the industrial portable device's communication link and network access point 148. Thus, for example, help server 250 can automatically provide the received help content to industrial portable devices 150 when a new help update is available at help server 250 but not yet installed on the industrial portable device. If not, the help server 250 and / or fleet management station 146 can be configured to automatically send help updates to a particular industrial portable device 150. Furthermore, because the help application is separate and independent from the underlying control application to which the help update is applicable, the automatic download of a help update to an industrial portable device does not require updating and / or modifying other underlying control applications within that device to which the help update is applicable.

[0090] 7 and 8 illustrate an exemplary industrial portable device 150 (or 180) for performing one or more preselected tasks on capital assets within a plant, such as any suitable device, such as a rotating device, a stationary device, and / or a power distribution device. Preferably, the industrial portable device 150 is configured to perform preselected tasks on portions of a process control system, such as various field devices and / or control and / or power loops or buses within the plant, and for various applications within a food processing, manufacturing, or similar plant. For ease of reference, further description of the industrial portable device 150 in relation to the process control system and field devices will also include any other capital assets within the plant unless expressly stated otherwise. The industrial portable device 150 can be configured to include the various features described herein and can have many different aesthetic shapes, sizes, and layouts, without being limited to the exemplary aesthetic arrangements disclosed herein.

[0091] The industrial portable device 150 includes a handheld base 214 and one or more functional modules 216. The one or more functional modules 216 are detachable and operably attached to, or "plugged into," the handheld base 214 to become a fixed part of the handheld base 214. The different functional modules 216 are detachably provided so that the functional modules 216 can be removed (i.e., replaced) from the handheld base 214 depending on the particular functional task that needs to be performed using the industrial portable device 150. Each functional module 216 specifically functions as a processor of a process control system. The different functional modules 216 may be configured to perform one or more preselected functions for one or more portions. For example, the different functional modules 216, when operably attached to the handheld base 214, may enable the maintenance tool 212 to read radio frequency identification (RFID) tags associated with various field devices located throughout a plant, collect vibration data from device assets, communicate with one or more field devices via a communication and / or power bus or loop, such as a HART protocol control / power loop and / or a Fieldbus protocol control / power bus and / or a 4-20 mA analog signaling loop, function as an ammeter, and / or communicate wirelessly with one or more transmitters and / or receivers within the plant. However, in other configurations, the industrial portable apparatus 150 may have dedicated components for performing specific functional tasks, optionally omitting one or more interchangeable functional modules 216 in favor of having one or more fixed function modules.

[0092] The handheld base 214 includes a computer processor (not visible within the external housing) and an electronic display 222 for displaying information from the computer processor to a user. The computer processor, electronic display 222, and power source are operably mounted together as a single handheld unit within a first housing 228. Input keys 232, such as physical push buttons or virtual buttons, are formed on the handheld base 214 to allow commands and / or other information to be entered by a user into the handheld base 214. As understood in the art, the computer processor preferably includes all appropriate electronic hardware, such as control circuitry, memory storage, I / O devices, drivers, and / or software, to perform one or more of the various functions variously described herein. The electronic display 222 can include a display screen, such as an LED, LCD, plasma, and / or any other type of electronic display, including any appropriate hardware and / or software drivers therefor, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Complementary electrical connectors (not shown) are provided interchangeably on the handheld base 214 and the functional module 216 for electrically connecting the functional module 216 when operatively connected to the handheld base 214, and for transmitting data, control, and / or power signals between the handheld base 214 and the operatively connected functional module 216.

[0093] One or more control applications in the form of software modules are accessible to the computer processor. The control applications may be resident on the handheld base 214, i.e., located directly on computer circuitry within the handheld base 214, such as in the memory and / or ASIC of a computer processor onboard the handheld base 214. Each control application is configured to perform a different functional task. For example, one control application may be a field communication control application configured to control the use of the industrial portable device as a field communicator tool, such as by connecting to and powering HART or FOUNDATION Fieldbus devices. Another control application may be a Fieldbus diagnostic control application configured to control the use of the industrial portable device as a loop diagnostic tool, such as by measuring DC voltage, noise, and / or signals within a FOUNDATION Fieldbus segment and / or by providing power to FOUNDATION Fieldbus devices. Another control application may be a loop diagnostic control application configured to control the use of the industrial portable device as a field diagnostic tool, such as by measuring loop current and voltage, controlling current, and / or providing power to HART devices. Also, a control application may be a ValveLink Mobile control application configured to control the use of industrial handheld devices as diagnostic tools for valve controllers, such as For example, it may be configured to perform valve diagnostics for HART and / or FOUNDATION Fieldbus digital valve controllers. Other control applications are possible. The control application may be implemented in any sufficient manner, such as software, ASIC, and / or hardware.

[0094] As shown in FIG. 9 , the “Home” screen displayed on the electronic display 222 displays several different icons 230. FIG. 9 illustrates an example where the home screen displays icons for a Field Communicator control application, a Fieldbus diagnostics control application, a loop diagnostics control application, and a ValveLink mobile control application. Thus, more or fewer control applications and appropriate icons 230 may be provided. A user can select and launch any one of the control applications for use by touching or otherwise selecting the appropriate icon 230 on the display 222. When a particular icon 230 is selected (and optionally, when a corresponding function module 216 is operably attached to the handheld base 214), the industrial handheld device 150 can be used as a handheld maintenance tool to perform specific maintenance and / or other functions driven by the selected software module.

[0095] Functional module 216 may include, for example, one or more computer control circuits configured to perform one or more functional tasks associated with that particular functional module when operatively connected to handheld base 214. The computer control circuits may include, for example, software, ASICs, and / or hardware having instructions, data, and / or circuitry to provide the particular functionality of functional module 216 and perform one or more pre-selected functional tasks. The computer control circuits may also optionally include computer data storage memory.

[0096] The industrial portable device 150 may also optionally include one or more interface connections 240 for operatively connecting to field devices and / or control loops in a process control system. In the exemplary configuration of the drawings, the interface connections 240 are part of the functional module 216. Depending on the preselected functional task or tasks associated with the functional module 216, the interface connections 240 are preferably mounted in the second housing 238 as a self-contained unit with computer control circuitry. The specific type and form of the interface connections 240 depend on the functional task or tasks performed by the functional module 216 with respect to field devices in the process control system. Thus, the interface connections 240 may include FOUNDATION Fieldbus and / or HART connectors, data collection connectors; power connectors; etc. Some functional modules 216 may not have interface connections 240. However, in configurations in which the industrial portable device 150 does not include a removable functional module 216, the interface connections 240 may be part of a non-removable portion of the industrial portable device 150.

[0097] Industrial portable device 150 is preferably configured to be intrinsically safe for use in hazardous areas. Thus, for example, handheld base 214 and functional modules 216 are preferably configured to be intrinsically safe for use and / or operably connected and / or disconnected in hazardous areas. Preferably, handheld base 214 is configured to be intrinsically safe with any functional module 216. That is, each combination of handheld base 214 operably attached to each different functional module is designed to be intrinsically safe such that it is unable to generate heat or sparks sufficient to ignite an explosive atmosphere. Preferably, each combination of handheld base 214 and functional module 216, either separately or operably connected together, is intrinsically safe. is environmentally safe, i.e., certified safe for use in hazardous areas such as Class I, Division 1 areas under the ANSI / NEC classification system, or similar areas with flammable or explosive atmospheres.

[0098] In the illustrated example, industrial portable device 150 is configured as a field communicator configured to send and receive communication signals to and from field devices. Functional module 216 is a removable field communication module for communicating with field devices over one or more communication protocols. Functional module 216 includes interface connections 240 for connecting to field devices or control loops or buses. Interface connections 240 include HART communication terminals for connecting to HART control loops or devices and communication terminals for connecting to FOUNDATION Fieldbus control buses or devices. In some configurations, terminals may be configured and / or provided for connection to other industrial protocols, such as WirelessHART, PROFIBUS PA, PROFIBUS DP, or other protocols.

[0099] The industrial portable device 150 in this configuration also includes a removable power module 246 and an optional folding stand 248. The power module 248 includes a power source, such as a battery, configured to power the handheld base 214 and / or one or more additional function modules operably attached to the handheld base 214. In some configurations, the handheld base 214 may include an embedded power source, such as a battery, that is separate from the power module 246. The folding stand 248 preferably pivots about a hinge between a flat position against the rear cover plate and a position pivoted outward from the rear cover plate to support the industrial portable device 150 in an upright position.

[0100] The help application is installed on the industrial portable device 150 and is separate and independent from the other control applications of the industrial portable device. As shown in FIG. 9 , a separate help icon 260 is displayed on the home screen, separate from the icons 230 used to start the various control applications installed on the industrial portable device 150. The help application is preferably implemented as software, but may also be implemented as hardware or a combination of hardware and software. To start and run the help application, a user selects the help icon 260, for example, by touching the help icon 260 on the electronic display 222 or using the input button 232. One or more control applications may be started and run independently of the help application. Similarly, the help application can be started and run independently of other control applications. Thus, running a control application does not require the help application to be running, and running the help application does not require the control application to be running. Furthermore, the help application can be configured to display help content to the user via the electronic display 222 on how to use multiple, preferably each, control application available within the industrial portable device 150.

[0101] Because the help application is separate and independent from other control applications, it can be executed, for example, on the help server 250 described herein and / or on a computer processor resident on the industrial portable device 150, without running and / or modifying other control applications. Similarly, control applications can be updated and / or installed and / or uninstalled without modifying the help application. In some configurations, the help application and one or more control applications can be updated simultaneously. Thus, providing a help application separate from various control applications is advantageous for the industrial portable device 15. 0 is advantageous in terms of flexibility and / or modularity of various computer applications and / or functional tasks that may be implemented in it.

[0102] 10-14 show several example screenshots of the display of help content displayed by the help application on electronic display 222. In some configurations, a web browser application executes on the computer processor to display the help application on electronic display 222. For example, the web browser may be the Windows® Embedded Compact 2013 Internet web browser. However, other web browsers may also be used. Additionally, in other configurations, the help application may be displayed by a different type of display driver other than a web browser.

[0103] When the help application is running, the screen displayed by the help application is divided into two primary panes: a main menu pane 263 used to navigate the various help content information contained within the help application, and a reading pane 268 used to display specific help content information on the electronic display 222. The main menu pane 263 displays various navigation icons, such as a content icon 264, a glossary icon 272, and / or a search icon 282. The reading pane 268 displays the text and drawings of a help topic entry or glossary entry selected from the various navigation icons in the main menu pane 263.

[0104] Preferably, the help application is configured to dynamically change the display format of the displayed content on the electronic display 222 based on the size and / or type of the current electronic display. For example, if the electronic display 222 is a larger screen, such as those typically found on a laptop computer, the help application simultaneously displays the main menu pane 263 and the reading pane 268 adjacent to each other, as shown in, for example, FIGS. 10-12. However, if the electronic display 222 is a smaller screen, such as those typically found on a handheld field maintenance tool, the help application displays only one of the main menu pane 263 or the reading pane 268 on the electronic display 222 at a time, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. In one configuration, the help application, computer processor, and / or help server 250 formats and provides the help content in HTML5 format, making them particularly well-suited to dynamically change the display format of the help content and the main menu pane 263 and the reading pane 268 depending on the size and / or type of the electronic display 222 on which the help content is being displayed. However, other data formats suitable for dynamically changing the display format of the help content may also be used.

[0105] FIG. 10 shows a help content page 262 that appears on a larger electronic display screen when the help content routine is initiated in the help application by selecting a content icon 264 from the main menu pane 263. Selecting the content icon 264 opens a drop-down menu of pre-selected help topic icons 266. Each help topic icon 266 may be selected to obtain specific help content for a particular one of the pre-selected help topics. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, selecting the "Field Communicator" application help topic icon displays help topic entry 267 with detailed help information about how to use industrial portable device 150 as a field communicator in reading pane 268. In a similar manner, selecting the corresponding help topic icon 266 displays the "Loop Diagnostics Application," "F More information about other pre-selected help topics, such as "ieldbus diagnostic application," can be obtained and displayed in the reading pane 268. Additionally, each help topic icon 266 can lead to further drop-down menus for further subcategories of the given help topic.

[0106] FIG. 11 shows a glossary page 270 that is displayed when the glossary routine is initiated in the help application by selecting the glossary icon 272 from the main menu pane 263. Selecting the glossary icon 272 opens a drop-down menu of pre-selected glossary topic icons 274. Each glossary topic icon 274 may be selected to obtain specific information about one of the pre-selected glossary topics. For example, selecting the “activation” glossary topic icon 274 displays a glossary entry 276 with detailed information about the term “activation” as used within the help application and elsewhere on the industrial portable device 150. The detailed information is displayed in the reading pane 268. Because many of the glossary entries are relatively short, several different glossary entries may be displayed in the reading pane 268, with the glossary entry for the selected glossary topic icon 264 displayed at the top of the reading pane 268. Other display configurations are possible.

[0107] FIG. 12 shows a search page 280 that is displayed when a search routine is initiated within the help routine by entering a search term into a search entry window 282. Help entry titles 284 for the search term entered into the search entry window 282 are displayed below a search icon 286 in the main menu pane 263. Selecting one of the help entry titles 284 displays the particular help entry in the reading pane 268 that corresponds to the selected help entry title 284. In the illustrated example, the search term "Field Communicator" is entered into the search entry window 282. A search of the help information available for the help application is performed by the search routine, and several help entry titles 284 related to the search term are displayed in the main menu pane 263 below the search icon 286. Here, the help entry title for "Field Communicator Application" is selected, and the corresponding help topic entry 267 for the Field Communicator application is displayed in the reading pane 268.

[0108] FIG. 13 shows the layout of the main menu pane 263 when displayed on a small electronic display screen 222. Here, the content formatting dynamically changes to display only the main menu pane 263. When one of the navigation icons corresponding to a particular detailed help entry, such as help topic entry 267 or one of glossary entries 276, is selected, the display changes to show only the reading pane 268, as shown in FIG. 14. In the illustrated example, FIG. 13 shows that the help topic icon 266, corresponding to the help topic entry titled "Ammeter on a Device Communicator Plus Communication Module," has been selected. When the help topic icon is selected, the display changes to show only the reading pane 268, along with the help information from the help topic entry 267 titled "Ammeter on a Device Communicator Plus Communication Module." In this smaller display format, a main menu icon 288 is provided in the reading pane 268. Selecting the main menu icon 288 causes the help application to return to display the main menu pane 263, as shown in FIG. 13, for example.

[0109] In some configurations, the industrial portable device 150 and the help application are configured to download help content directly to the industrial portable device 150 and store the content locally within the industrial portable device 150, for example in the memory of a computer processor. The computer processor included in the industrial portable device 150 may be configured to stream help content from a remote source to the electronic display 222 via a communication link within the industrial portable device. For example, the help application may be configured to stream instructional videos for specific selected help topics directly to the industrial portable device 150, e.g., via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection with the network access point 148. In other configurations, the industrial portable device 150 may include an internet connection, e.g., via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, and may be configured to download and / or stream help content directly from the internet to the industrial portable device 150. In yet other configurations, the industrial portable device 150 and help application may be configured to receive help content without an active internet connection, e.g., directly from the help server 250 via the communication link 144 and the network access point 148. In such a configuration without an active internet connection, help updates are imported into the fleet management software and then transferred to the industrial portable device 150.

[0110] While the fleet management system 112 and help system described herein have been described in the context of an industrial portable equipment management system, they may also be used to manage other industrial equipment, such as personal computers, handheld devices, etc., used in asset management systems, rotating device management systems, etc. Additionally, the fleet management system 112 may be used to support many types of industrial portable equipment, such as field communicators, calibrators, meters, vibration analyzers, etc., used in industrial facilities, such as industrial plants, to configure, troubleshoot, calibrate, measure, and otherwise operate field devices (e.g., process measurement devices, valves, positioners), rotating machinery, and other devices. Similarly, the fleet management system 112 may be used to support fixed devices within a plant, such as user or operator workstations, data historians, asset management stations, vibration analysis stations, rotating device stations, process controllers, input / output devices used in processes, etc., used in plant and control systems.

[0111] This patent describes a fleet management system for managing portable field maintenance tools configured for use in business process control systems, environments, and / or plants, interchangeably referred to as "automation," "industrial control," "process control," or "business control." Typically, such systems and plants provide distributed control of one or more processes that operate to manufacture, refine, transform, or create physical materials or products, although these plants may also operate in other ways, still using the management structure described herein.

[0112] Additionally, while the software and hardware described herein for the various components of the fleet management system 112 and help system are described as being implemented within a general-purpose computer or workstation having a processor and memory, some or all of these components may be implemented using other types of computers, such as special-purpose computers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc. Furthermore, these components may be configured within more or fewer computing devices than illustrated herein; for example, multiple components of the fleet management system described herein may be stored and implemented within the same computer processor or system, or may be divided among multiple computing devices. Similarly, these components may be created or configured using any standard or known computer software programming techniques and may implement any standard or known communication techniques to communicate with each other.

[0113] The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Therefore, it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The present embodiment has been chosen and described in order to provide best examples of the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments with various modifications suited to the particular uses intended. All modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

Claims

1. 1. A system for providing help content to an industrial portable device, comprising: a computer network within the plant including a fleet management station and a network access point operably connected by a first communication link; 1. An industrial portable device, comprising: a processor; a functional module configured to be removably and operably attached to the industrial portable apparatus so as to be interchangeable with other functional modules, the functional module configured to perform one or more preselected functional tasks on one or more field devices within the plant; at least one control application configured to control the functional modules that perform the one or more preselected functional tasks on the one or more field devices in the plant; An electronic display, a help application that runs on the processor and provides, on the electronic display, help content on how to use the control application to perform specific functional tasks using the functional modules; a second communication link configured to communicate with the network access point; an industrial portable device having a help server connected to the computer network and accessible by the network access point; the help server provides the help content to the help application of the industrial portable device via the network access point. system.

2. the help server is configured to provide the help content to the industrial portable device and update the help application without modifying the control application. The system of claim 1 .

3. the second communication link and the network access point include wireless data communication links. The system of claim 1 .

4. The industrial portable device is configured to receive the help content without an internet connection. The system of claim 1 .

5. the industrial portable device is configured to receive the help content via an Internet connection. The system of claim 1 .

6. the industrial portable device includes a browser application configured to display the help content from the help application using HTML formatting. The system of claim 1 .

7. The industrial portable device is characterized in that it includes an ammeter configured to be connected to and tested on a field device and / or a bus in the plant. The system of claim 1 .

8. The help server is configured to receive the help content from an external server network outside the computer network within the plant, and provide the received help content to the industrial portable device. The system of claim 1 .

9. wherein when communication between a communication link of the industrial portable device and the network access point of the computer network in the plant is established, the help server is configured to automatically provide the received help content to the industrial portable device. The system of claim 8.

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