BLE Communication Bridge for Low-Power Industrial Field Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Bluetooth radios are not suitable for low-powered field devices in industrial process control systems due to power budget constraints, limiting their ability to facilitate efficient communication.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to form a communication bridge between low-powered devices, enabling interoperability with industrial communication protocols like HART, PROFIBUS, and FOUNDATION Fieldbus without the need for additional hardware, by formatting data according to industrial protocols and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional Bluetooth radios are used in field devices, then communication capability is provided, but power consumption exceeds the power budget of low-powered devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the communication protocol parameter from conventional Bluetooth to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which operates with significantly reduced power consumption. This parameter change enables field devices with constrained power budgets to maintain wireless communication capability while staying within their power limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a gateway device as an intermediary that translates between BLE communication protocol and industrial communication protocols (HART, PROFIBUS, FOUNDATION Fieldbus). This mediator enables interoperability between low-powered field devices using BLE and traditional industrial control systems without requiring the field devices to directly support multiple protocols.
2Adaptability or versatility
If additional hardware is added to enable industrial protocol communication, then communication interoperability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple communication protocol capabilities into a single gateway device. The gateway integrates BLE radio, industrial protocol stack, and data translation functionality, eliminating the need for separate hardware for each protocol and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device is designed with multi-functionality, supporting multiple industrial communication protocols (HART, PROFIBUS, FOUNDATION Fieldbus) simultaneously through a single device. This universal approach allows one gateway to serve multiple field devices with different protocol requirements, reducing the need for protocol-specific hardware.
3Adaptability or versatility
If data is transmitted using industrial communication protocols, then protocol compatibility is achieved, but power consumption increases beyond available budget
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication function into two parts: the field device uses only BLE for wireless communication (low power), while the gateway handles the industrial protocol translation and processing (external to the field device's power budget). This segmentation isolates the high-power protocol processing from the constrained field device.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway acts as an intermediary that handles the power-intensive industrial protocol processing externally. Field devices communicate via low-power BLE to the gateway, which then manages the higher-power industrial protocol communications, effectively moving the power consumption burden outside the field device's power budget.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a field device including a network bridge, the network bridge to convert first data received at a first Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio of the network bridge, over a BLE network, from a second BLE radio of a remote device, and formatted according to a BLE communication protocol, into second data formatted according to an industrial communication protocol.