WO2014094981A2

WO2014094981A2 - Process automation system and commissioning method for a field device in a process automation system

Info

Publication number: WO2014094981A2
Application number: PCT/EP2013/003656
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dirk Schulz; Markus Ruppert; Ravish Kumar; Mallikarjun Kande; Apala Ray
Original assignee: Abb Ag
Priority date: 2012-12-20
Filing date: 2013-12-04
Publication date: 2014-06-26
Also published as: WO2014094981A8; WO2014094981A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a commissioning method for a field device in a process automation system and a process automation system comprising at least one field device, a device management system, a wireless communication network and at least one data processing unit, wherein the device management system provides a functionality to perform and execute the handling and managing, in particular the synchronization, of security credentials and other device parameters for fieldbuses and/or field devices, wherein a mobile handheld device is provided to support a synchronization of said security credentials between the management device system and the at least one field device, wherein a first interface, wired or wireless, in particular USB, WiFi, Bluetooth or the like, is provided to connect the mobile handheld device to and/or to exchange data with the security management system and/or control system to perform and execute at least the synchronization of security credentials, and wherein a second interface, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, WirelessHART, RFID, or the like, is provided to connect the mobile handheld device to and/or to exchange data with at least one field device, wherein a display and/or input device, in particular a touch-screen with a keyboard and display functionality, is provided to display status information on credentials synchronization with field devices in the field and/or to alert a respective user about problem conditions and/or to prompt them for decisions in case of existing or arising problem conditions, and at least one data storage is provided as part of the security management system with stored security credentials, wherein the credentials are stored in an accessible and downloadable manner.

Description

Process automation system and commissioning method for a field device in a process automation system Description

The invention relates to a process automation system comprising a device

management system, in particular comprising a first processing device as device management master and at least one second processing device as device

management client, at least one field device, a wireless communication network and at least one mobile handheld device, providing a functionality to perform and execute the handling and managing of security credentials and other device specific and relevant parameters. Furthermore the invention related to a commissioning method for one or more field devices in a process automation system.

The use of WirelessHART as a new communication standard in industrial automation introduces a number of new challenges compared to classical wired communication, which have to be addressed at an early stage in the respective Device Management System (DMS) during topology engineering and commissioning.

As for wired communication, the DMS requires instances for gateways and devices and must reflect the logical communication topology from the previous network layout. Unlike wired communication, security measures defined in the HART standard introduce additional complexity into the commissioning workflow.

The WirelessHART standard defines mandatory authentication and encryption mechanisms for the wireless communication. It further requires that the related encryption keys are exchanged through secure connections. Wired FSK communication is considered to fulfill this security requirement, are even fully autonomous wireless devices must provide a corresponding interface. Just like any other device parameter, also encryption keys may be pre-parameterized by the device manufacturer.

WirelessHART uses symmetric encryption, namely usage of the same key for encryption and decryption, for the authentication and communication between field devices and wireless access points. Corresponding keys must be available within both the gateway and the field device that wish to communicate.

In the most secure setting, a gateway receives an individual join key per device. To validate a join request, it requires a list of join keys and corresponding device IDs (hardware addresses). There is no way to disable encryption and authentication, but for ease of use the security level can be lowered. A common join key may then be shared between the devices in a network, and any device with a valid key is allowed to join.

Accordingly, during (re-)commissioning or pre-parameterization or installation or putting into operation the WirelessHART - devices must be connected to a "join key source", for example a commissioning station/engineering/handheld, via a secure connection or communication line. Said connection typically is realized via a wired FSK Modem connection or a short-range IR connection, which all devices must support, even fully autonomous ones. A HMI (human machine interface) port is also technically possible, but not standardized among manufacturers. Any wired port must be exposed during commissioning, whereby only the non-standard HMI port allows the device to remain closed.

Since existing join keys cannot be read back from any device through any port, the pre-parameterization of keys requires that they are distributed through another channel, which finally leads to additional effort, potentials and higher risk for mistakes, and diminishes the security. Accordingly, general tasks for the commissioning and troubleshooting of Wire- lessHART field networks are the provisioning of security credentials (including network IDs and Join Keys) from the Device Management System (DMS) to the respective devices and the collection of "network health indicators" from the devices and indicators which relate to the functional capability and status of the network.

For workshop commissioning scenarios, the devices are co-located to a stand-alone or DCS (Distributed Control System)-integ rated DMS.

For devices which are mounted in the field but are not yet/anymore reachable through the wireless network, the communication gap between the gateway and DMS has to be bridged somehow. Synchronizing information between these different locations would typically be done using a mobile device or a handheld respectively.

This includes pre-parameterized devices whose security credentials are to be reused. Since the HART standard forbids the join keys to be read from the device, the key must be procured from another source.

A bootstrapping method is required before wireless communication can take place (again).

In particular replacing a faulty wireless device on site is essentially a re- commissioning of a device with the same challenges as described above.

In cases that commissioned devices do not join or previously joined devices are lost from the network, wireless communication obviously cannot be used to query the problematic device in question.

At least two limiting factors for the speed of the network join process are the advertising frequency of the gateway and the available energy of the field device. The latter applies for or concerns both autonomous and line-powered devices; the energy from harvesters, batteries, and 4-20mA loops is typically scarce; a device must suspend some functions to keep operable for sensing, actuation, or communication.

There are numerous occasions or situations where a device mounted in the field has to be found and identified. This may be the case during initial commissioning, during device replacement, and during wireless troubleshooting. A commissioning or maintenance engineer would use a floor plan to track down a device. However, the field devices may be mounted in locations which are hard or dangerous to reach; their tags may have become stained and not readable over time; and the plans might not perfectly reflect the "as built" situation.

Therefore, the object of the invention is to provide an enhanced technical possibility for an efficient and easy to handle commissioning and maintenance of technical equipment and in particular an efficient and seamless handling of wireless field devices in a plant or technical installation, which allows to minimize or at least reduce join time.

This object is achieved and solved by a process automation system, which allows and effectuates a commissioning and maintenance of one or more field devices by use of wireless connections and a mobile handheld device according to the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and developments as well as a corresponding commissioning method are disclosed in the following description and further claims.

Accordingly the Process automation system according to the invention comprises at least one field device, a device management system, a wireless communication network, and at least one data processing unit, wherein the device management system provides a functionality to perform and execute the handling and managing, in particular the synchronization, of security credentials and other device parameters for fieldbuses and/or field devices, wherein a mobile handheld device is provided to support a synchronization of said security credentials between the control system and the at least one field device, which in particular may be mounted and/or installed in the respective field prior to any synchronization and thus may not be reachable from the process automation system, i. wherein a first interface, wired or wireless, in particular USB, WiFi, Bluetooth or the like, is provided to connect the mobile handheld device to and/or to exchange data with the device management system to perform and execute at least the synchronization of security credentials and/or other device specific parameters, and

ii. wherein a second interface, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, Wireless HART, RFID, or the like, is provided to connect the mobile device to and/or to exchange data with at least one field device,

iii. a display and/or input device, in particular a touch-screen with a keyboard and display functionality, is provided to display status information on credentials synchronization with field devices in the field and/or to alert a respective user about problem conditions and/or to prompt them for decisions in case of existing or arising problem conditions, and at least one data storage is provided with stored security credentials, wherein the credentials are stored in an accessible and downloadable manner.

Advantageously, the solution according to the invention provides and allows an efficient and seamless handling of wireless field devices in a DMS (Device Management System); for matters of topology engineering and commissioning, they largely appear just like wired HART devices with the same or even less effort.

Furthermore, the DMS may provide a client server arrangement, comprising a first processing device as device management master and at least one second processing device as device management client. A mobile handheld device in the context of the present application may be a mobile phone, smartphone, an organizer, a tablet computer, a netbook or the like.

From the engineering side, the DMS according to the invention provides an offline data structure, the so called "offline view", on at least a selectable part of all wireless field devices to the mobile handheld device. This offline data structure includes and comprises tags, addressing information, and security credentials. This particularly includes the assignment of each device to a specific gateway.

In addition, in a further embodiment the mobile handheld device receives a data set comprising information of networks along with their tags, optionally with spatial coordinates of their expected coverage areas.

Furthermore, during commissioning, the mobile handheld device generates and records an online data structure with set up/arrangement information, the so called "online view" of the actual and real field and/or field devices by means of an analysis and/or processing of existing and/or established individual connections to a series of installed field devices and by reading out identification and site survey information from said devices.

Furthermore, in another embodiment the mobile handheld device itself possess or comprise site survey capabilities.

Moreover, executable program code means are provided by the mobile handheld device and/or the DMS, which cause and/or initiate that when the mobile handheld device is connected to a device management client and a client of the device management system, the online data structure of the mobile handheld device is simultaneously shown alongside the offline data structure of the DMS inside that client. The user can compare them and interactively synchronize the data structures through bulk operations and drag and drop. Furthermore, executable program code means are provided by the mobile handheld device and/or the DMS, which apply digital image processing routines and procedures to the two data structures to automatically compare them, discover differences, for example by use of pattern recognition, and synchronize both data structures automatically.

In a further embodiment in case of a mismatch of the DMS and the mobile handheld device data structures, which also includes the case that one of them is missing, the handheld displays such mismatch to the user and prompts them for a decision how to resolve the situation.

Such mismatches for encountered devices might be:

the device was not specified by the DMS during download of the offline data structure to the handheld,

the device is already joined to a network other than the expected one,

the device is not joined but configured for a network other than the expected one, a device is encountered that is configured but is overdue for the joining of a network.

To resolve any mismatch, according to another embodiment the mobile handheld device

determines the quality of reachable networks by "sniffing" and/or scanning the networks,

determine the quality of reachable networks by reading "sniffing" and/or scanning results from a connected device,

determine its spatial location manually or for example by using GPS or any other global positioning system and using a previously supplied look-up table of matching network candidates to choose and or select from,

offer the user to select a network from a previously supplied list, which the user might do from their own knowledge of the area that the device is in (less preferred) simply offer the user to manually enter a network ID (not preferred) In a further embodiment the selection of network candidates and at least a corresponding network and/or network ID may be executed rule-based and automatically.

Moreover, in a further embodiment both data structures, the online and the offline data structure may be combined and meshed.

Following (partial) commissioning, the mobile handheld device uploads the collected online data from the field or plant to the DMS, in particular as some kind of commissioning log. By processing the uploaded data and information the DMS is them informed about and/or aware of the actual/present situation in the field or plant and/or its condition as the mobile handheld device encountered and collected and/or determined it. This information may then be presented to one or more users of the DMS and or the respective process automation system.

It might be the case that despite a guideline-conforming wireless layout and a completed commissioning process, the wireless network might still not be functioning according to expectations. There might be errors/faults in the communication, (repeatedly) lost command responses, which eventually may lead to failed up-/downloads, devices might drop out of the network or not even join to begin with.

In all these cases, there is a perceived problem symptom whose root cause must be identified before it can be fixed.

Advantageously, the DMS comprises a history of the network health and a log of the commissioning process, which may be stored in an accessible manner on a data storage. Such information and/or data may be provided by or complemented with information collected in the field by the mobile handheld device.

The initial on-site data structure comprising an online data structure and/or a commissioning log for field-parameterized devices is generated by using a mobile handheld device. If a field device which has never received a join key does not join, the most likely root cause is obvious. If a device has received a join key and has started listening to the correct network advertisements, the gateway or obstructions might be the more likely cause of the problem.

If there is no indication of an obvious root cause, the effort may be well spent to take the handheld to the device in question and query its status through a pair-to-pair connection, in particular a wired or IR (infrared) connection.

In any of these cases, a mobile handheld device may use a wireless connection, for example WiFi or Bluetooth, to connect to the DMS and upload troubleshooting data without the user leaving the plant floor.

WirelessHART for example requires a certified device to offer an FSK, PSK or an RS485 port for wired communication.

Accordingly, in a further embodiment a so-called local HART interface is used and provided, which essentially is the digital HART protocol without any type of modulation. The handheld offers a combination of these wired interfaces.

To connect the mobile handheld device to the DMS in a further embodiment, it possesses a wired interface, preferably a USB interface.

Furthermore, the mobile handheld device comprise at least one wireless interface such as WiFi or Bluetooth, for which additional management might be required.

To allow a device to perform a faster and/or secure network join, in a further embodiment the mobile device and in particular the handheld supplies the device with additional energy from its internal power source, either over a dedicated connection or combined with any wired or wireless communication interface.

Furthermore, the respective device provides an interface to receive supplementary power in particular from a mobile handheld device. This allows a reduced wireless join time. The interface may be integrated with an existing communication interface, for example ABB Local HART or a dedicated one since the 4-20mA loop cannot be loaded with additional current.

This additional energy allows a device to execute beneficial functions more frequently:

o Increased listening to network advertisement packets or site survey. This leads to a significant decrease of join time and thus a faster feedback on the success of the commissioning. Furthermore, commissioning problems can be detected faster while the user is still at the device experiencing a problem.

o Increased execution of site survey functions. This leads to more precise survey information.

In another embodiment of the invention by monitoring and tracking or following the provisioning of security credentials to a device, the mobile device handheld enables it to join the network using a standardized HART command.

In a further embodiment the mobile device and in particular the handheld is configured and equipped to access and/or request a newly commissioned device to advertise the network as often as possible once it has joined that network or access and request the device, in particular the field device, to request a more frequent advertising to be triggered from the gateway, for example by using a "burst command" to generate a virtual event.

A 3^rd party gateway will not be able to understand the command, but the process automation system device management is equipped and configured to detect and recognize it and configure the gateway accordingly.

In a further embodiment the system according to the invention decides on its own to request more frequent advertisements from the gateways whose devices are to be commissioned: o the DMS requests this when a handheld is carried to the field for commissioning

o the DMS requests this during the entire time until the completion of commissioning has been determined by all devices having joined the network. o the gateway requests this once the first device has joined the network, even though no dedicated request for increased advertising was sent, since this is an indicator that commissioning is currently taking place in the field

o the DMS requests this once it detects the first joined device; it then activates more frequent advertising within the gateway

In a further embodiment of the invention, during all of commissioning, troubleshooting, or maintenance, a user in the field will benefit from additional accessible static information stored in a database to determine the cause of problem situations:

o device manuals, with e.g. the correct wiring of a WirelessHART Adapter, o device installation instructions, with e.g. the intended direction of an antenna,

o device troubleshooting workflow/checklists.

All this information is known beforehand, collected and stored for the relevant devices on an easy accessible database and made available easily, for example rule- based or by demand/request, in the right and/or related situations.

In a further embodiment of the invention the mobile handheld device may also request the more frequent advertising directly through the DMS. In case the mobile handheld device has a wireless connection to the DMS, this is done following the provisioning of security credentials; in case it only connects through a wire at a later point in time, the request is sent at that point in time.

In another embodiment, the handheld may advertise the network itself. In this case, a device might try to join through the handheld, which then would be the main point of advertising. However, the handheld may not be considered to be a router in the network schedule. Furthermore, a method and executable program code means are implemented to advice/let the handheld switch between networks depending on the spatial location.

The WirelessHART standard defines a so-called "squawk command". A device supporting this command will respond to it with an acoustic signal and/or sound. So when the handheld device is required to configure a particular device with tag, the mobile handheld device may initiate an acoustic signal from the respective device and accordingly can request the device to make itself known.

If the mobile handheld device has a connection to the DMS, it may request the gateway to send the command on its behalf.

In a further embodiment if a wireless handheld frame is established according to the HART7 standard, the mobile handheld device may send this command directly.

In addition, the handheld may determine its own location and infer which device is locally the closest one. For this, a localization component provided, for example GPS or any other global positioning system, as well as a list of device locations.

To support the above defined and described workflows, the mobile handheld device is integrated in the device management system (DMS), so that the mobile handheld device is able to down- and upload device lists, device parameters, in particular security credentials, and log information or a combination thereof.

From a user perspective, the handheld might ideally be shown as one (temporary) source of live lists, just like a local FSK modem. This is independent of any device management that the handheld as a device might require. From a DMS perspective, wireless device and network integration components must be able to communicate transparently their information to the mobile handheld device.

These and further embodiments and improvements of the invention are subject matter of the sub-claims.

By means of an exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanied drawing the invention itself, preferred embodiments and improvements of the invention and specific advantages of the invention shall be explained and illustrated in more detail.

It is shown in

Fig. 1 Process automation system with DMS and mobile handheld device according to the invention

Fig. 2 Mobile handheld device according to the invention

Fig. 3 Method for the commissioning and maintenance of field devices of a process automation system

Fig. 4 exemplary on-site commissioning and maintenance process in the field by use of a mobile handheld device, with device identification by means of tags,

Fig. 5 exemplary DMS and mobile handheld device synchronization process

Fig. 6 . exemplary on-site commissioning and maintenance process in the field by use of a mobile handheld device,

Fig. 7 exemplary determination process of mobile handheld device location

Fig. 8 exemplary DMS synchronization process using a mobile handheld device according to the invention

In Fig. 1 a process automation system according to the invention is disclosed comprising at least one field device 6, a device management system, which more or less is arranged as a distributed control system, including a processing device, for example a personal computer or workstation or computer cluster or mainframe or host system, as device management master 4, a wireless communication network 8 with at least one gateway 10 and at least one mobile handheld device 2, wherein the device management system and in particular the device management master 4, provides a functionality to perform and execute the handling and managing, in particular the synchronization, of security credentials and other device specific or relevant parameters for fieldbuses and/or field devices 6.

As disclosed in Fig. 2 the mobile handheld device 2 according to the invention, is provided to support the synchronization of said security credentials between the device management system and the at least one field device, which in particular may be mounted and/or installed in the field prior to any synchronization and thus not be reachable from the system, wherein a first interface 22, wired or wireless, in particular Serial, USB-, WiFi-, IR-, Ethernet Bluetooth -interface using the respective protocols 222 or the like, or a combination thereof is provided to connect the mobile device 2 to and/or to exchange data with the device management system 4 to perform and execute at least the synchronization of security credentials, and wherein a second interface 26, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, WirelessHART-, HART Binary-, Foundation Fieldbus, Industrial Ethernet-, Profibus-, ISA 100-, SAW-, RFID- interface using the respective protocols 262, or the like or a combination thereof is provided to connect the mobile device to and/or to exchange data with at least one field device 6.

Furthermore, a display 30 and/or input device 32, in particular a touch-screen 302 with a keyboard and display functionality, including buttons and switches, is provided to display status information on credentials synchronization with field devices in the field and/or to alert a respective user about problem conditions and/or to prompt them for decisions in case of existing or arising problem conditions, and

At least one data storage 34 is provided by the mobile handheld device 2 with stored security credentials 342, wherein the credentials are stored in an accessible and downloadable manner.

Furthermore according to the embodiment of Fig. 1 the mobile handheld device 2 is configured and equipped to supply additional power from its internal power source 28 to any of the connected devices 6 in order to allow them to perform without restriction from their own power source such as continuously listening and checking for wireless advertisements thus maximally speeding up the join process and/or increasing the precision of a site survey function built into the device. , Moreover, the mobile device comprises a Real Time Clock RTC 38 and/or a data storage 34 to store a commissioning log including a time-stamp 342, in particular as a time series.

The data storage 34 is equipped and prepared to also store and secure site survey information.

The mobile handheld device 2 also comprises a wireless spectrum analyzer or sniffer 36 for at least one wireless protocol 362 to check and search for wireless advertisements as well as wireless communicating devices 6.

Accordingly, a wireless site survey function ("sniffer") for co-existing networks using the same band but other protocols, in particular such as WiFi, or for other networks or network protocols using a different band than the wireless fieldbus protocol is provided, wherein during wireless site survey, the radio properties of a number of defined locations are determined, according to the fact that these properties influence the Quality of Service of the wireless communication and/or communication network and are considered during wireless network layout, and/or the field devices themselves are used as sources for site survey information and accordingly the survey information is always in the context of a, in particular traceable, device tag.

The mobile handheld device 2 itself is able to determine its spatial location by means of

a. an integrated GPS unit 36,362 of the mobile handheld device 2, b. cell phone technologies such as UMTS, GPRS and/or LTE

36,362,

c. triangulation from wireless networks, including but not restricted to

i. WirelessHART

ii. WiFi

d. an integrated scanning unit 36 for the scanning of area tags using

i. visuals like barcodes

ii. radio near-field communication like RFID

In Fig. 3 a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the method for the commissioning and maintenance of technical equipment, and in particular wireless communi- eating field devices of a process automation system is disclosed, wherein the mobile handheld device 2 is used for the administration and/or commissioning of one or more field devices 6 by identifying wireless communicating devices 6, providing and allowing and/or enabling a remote operation method for the devices 6 being remote from one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces, which communication interfaces allow direct or indirect physical access to further physical devices or communication network 8 and/or device management system 4 via integration components, for example gateways 10 or the like , and/or storing any combination of collected/gathered information.

In a first step 300 the stored information and data in the mobile handheld device 2 is synchronized with the available and accessible data in the device management system 4 and in particular the device management master automatically upon the connection to one communication interface or following the connection upon a user request, wherein the synchronized information contains at least one of:

a. device identification information,

b. security credentials,

c. device communication status such as join state in wireless networks, d. time-stamps or time-stamp history for the change of any of the previous items.

According to the engineering process the device management system 4 provides an offline or off-site data structure on at least a selected part of all wireless field devices 6 and according to the synchronization process (first step 300) this offline data structure is uploaded to the mobile handheld device 2. This offline data structure or so called "offline view" includes tags, addressing information, and/or security credentials and in particular the assignment of each device to a specific gateway 10. Furthermore, the handheld 2 may receive a list of networks 8 along with their tags, optionally with spatial coordinates of their expected coverage areas.

In a next step 310 the mobile handheld device is transferred from an off-site field location, for example the control room or master display, to an on-site location in the respective field, where the field devices of the process automation system are ar- ranged and the commissioning process as such is taking place and is being performed in a third step 330.

During commissioning 330, the mobile handheld device 2 records an online data structure on-site in the field, the so called "online view" of the actual field and/or field components and/or devices, like sensors and actuators, for example switches, flow meters, temperature, current or voltage sensors, valves, breakers, drives and the like. The mobile handheld device 2 obtains/gathers said information and generates that online data structure by determining and/or analyzing the individual connections to a series of installed field devices and by reading out identification and site survey information from them.

After the on-site commissioning and troubleshooting process 340 in the field the mobile handheld device 2 may then be taken and connected to a device management client or the master of the device management system 350, wherein its on-site generated and provided online data structure, the so called "online view" is uploaded to the DMS and shown/presented inside that client alongside the "offline view" of the DMS. The user can then compare them and interactively synchronize 360 the views through bulk operations and drag and drop or automatically synchronize the data structures rule-based and/or by applying digital image processing techniques and/or pattern recognition.

In case of a mismatch of the DMS and the handheld data structures, which includes one of them just being missing, the handheld displays such mismatch to the user and according to fig. 4 prompts them for a decision how to resolve the situation 340c.

Such mismatches for encountered devices might be:

^■ the device was not specified by the DMS during download to the handheld

^■ the device is already joined to a network other than the expected one

^■ the device is not joined but configured for a network other than the expected one

^■ a device is encountered that is configured but is overdue for the joining of a network

To resolve any mismatch, the handheld might

^■ determine the quality of reachable networks by "sniffing" the networks ■ determine the quality of reachable networks by reading "sniffing" results from the connected device

^■ determine its spatial location (manually or e.g. using GPS) and using a previously supplied look-up table of matching network candidates to choose from.

^■ offer the user to select a network from a previously supplied list, which the user might do from their own knowledge of the area that the device is in (less preferred)

■ simply offer the user to manually enter a network ID (not preferred)

Following (partial) commissioning according to fig. 3, in a further step the mobile handheld device is taken to and connected with/to the DMS and in particular the device management master 350 to upload the collected and on-site generated online data structure from the field and to finally synchronize and update the offline data structure from the DMS as some kind of commissioning log in a further step 360. The DMS is now informed about the actual situation in the field as the handheld encountered it and can show this to users.

In fig. 4 an exemplary on-site commissioning of a field device in the field by use of a mobile handheld device, wherein the mobile handheld device 2 according to the invention, is provided to support the synchronization of security credentials between the device management system and the at least one field device, which in particular may be mounted and/or installed in the field prior to any synchronization and thus not be reachable from the system.

For this purpose the mobile handheld device stepwise is taken on-site in the field and connected 340a to the at least one field device by means of at least one device interface 26, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, WirelessHART-, HART Binary-, Foundation Fieldbus, Industrial Ethernet-, Profibus-, ISA 100-, SAW-, RFID- interface using the respective protocols 262, or the like or a combination thereof to establish a com- munication link between the field device and the mobile handheld device for the exchange of data and/or information.

After the connection is established the mobile handheld device is trying to identify the respective device.

If the device has been identified successfully and solely survey mode is initiated and/or executed its status and/or Identification code or ID is stored and in particular stored in an encounter log 340 h and the mobile handheld device is disconnected 340 i.

If the field device has not been identified successfully a look up procedure 340d is initiated and executed. If a tag could be detected and found a check is initiated and executed whether the device has already joined the communication network. If no security credentials are downloaded and an encounter log is stored.

If no tag could be found the user is prompted 340c for an unknown device and is asked to change the tag. If the tag is changed, afterwards its checked whether the device already joined the network, if the result is no, security credentials are downloaded 340g, if the result is yes, then the user is prompted for reconciliation 340f. If the join status is overrided security credentials are then downloaded. If no override took place the encounter log is stored.

Finally, after the encounter log is stored, the mobile handheld device is disconnected 340i.

An exemplary DMS and mobile handheld device synchronization process is disclosed in a more detailed overview in Fig. 5, wherein stepwise the mobile handheld device 2 is connected 510 to the device management system by means of at least one provided device management interface 22 and uploads 520 the on-site in the field collected and/or generated online data structure information to the DMS. The uploaded information may comprise fieldbus specific information 530, like for example addressing, tags, etc., security credentials 540, device specific information 550, like for example transducer settings, alarm configuration, settings of protection functions, as well as other parameter values 560 related to the respective field devices.

Furthermore, the uploaded information and data from the mobile handheld 2 device are compared with stored information and data structure of the DMS and differences are determined and denoted/marked and are shown/presented 570 to the user

The user then has the possibility to selectively accept or reject the amendments related to the presented differences to control and proceed with synchronization and/or update of the DMS database and data structure.

After finalizing the data and/or information synchronization process of the DMS the synchronized offline data structure/database of the DMS with the newly amended information and data is stored in the DMS downloaded 590 to the mobile handheld device to replace the former offline data structure as well as the online data structure in the mobile handheld device 2.

Then the mobile handheld device is disconnected 600 from the device management system.

Fig. 6 shows the exemplary commissioning of a field device by use of a mobile handheld device, wherein the mobile handheld device 2 according to the invention, is provided to support the synchronization of security credentials between the device management system and the at least one field device, which in particular may be mounted and/or installed in the field prior to any synchronization and thus not be reachable from the system.

For this purpose the mobile handheld device stepwise is taken on-site in the field and connected 600 to the at least one field device by means of at least one device interface 26, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, WirelessHART-, HART Binary-, Founda- tion Fieldbus, Industrial Ethernet-, Profibus-, ISA 100-, SAW-, RFID- interface using the respective protocols 262, or the like or a combination thereof to establish a communication link between the field device and the mobile handheld device for the exchange of data and/or information.

Furthermore according to the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 6 the mobile handheld device 2 is configured and equipped to supply and provide 610 additional power from its internal power source 28 to the connected device 6 in order to allow them to perform without restriction from their own power source such as continuously listening and checking for wireless advertisements thus maximally speeding up the join process and/or increasing the precision of a site survey function built into the device.

Moreover, the mobile handheld device 2 starts to determine its spatial location by means of

36,362,

c. triangulation from wireless networks, including but not restricted to

iii. WirelessHART

iv. WiFi

d. an integrated scanning unit 36 for the scanning of area tags using

v. visuals like barcodes or

vi. radio near-field communication like RFID, and identifies the connected device.

Furthermore, the mobile handheld device 2 comprises a display and/or input device 32, in particular a touch-screen 302 with a keyboard and display functionality, including buttons and switches, to display status information on credentials synchronization with field devices in the field and/or to alert a respective user about problem condi- tions and/or to prompt them for decisions in case of existing or arising problem conditions.

After the respective device is identified and a connection between the mobile handheld device and the respective field device has been established the synchronization process is initiated and started.

During this synchronization of the mobile handheld device and the respective field device or network condition indicators are uploaded 640 as well as the device parameter set is determined 650.

The device parameter set may comprise fieldbus specific information like for example addressing, tags, etc, as well as device specific information, like for example transducer settings, alarm configuration, settings of protection functions.

The fieldbus specific information and in particular the communication parameter may be selected from a predefined list 660 or manually entered 670 or autocreated 680.

They may also be autoselected 690 according to the determined device identity.

The device specific information may also be autoselected 700 according to the device identity.

In case of mismatches and/or errors if one or more of the above mentioned data and/or information are not available a troubleshooting process 710 is initiated and executed to determine the root cause and to download 720 the missing parameters from the mobile handheld device and synchronize fieldbus specific information 730, including security credentials 735 and/or device specific information 740.

After the synchronization process and observation process is initiated and executed to detect device communication startup 750 and/or network join 760 of the respective device. If the device starts communication and joins the network the device status is stored 770 in the mobile handheld device and the mobile handheld device is disconnected 780 from the field device.

Fig. 7 shows an exemplary determination of mobile handheld device location by use of triangulation techniques comparing and analyzing the WiFi-signals of three gateways GW1.GW2 and GW3 in combination with GPS and Tag information of three devices D1 , D2 and D3.

In Fig. 8 an exemplary DMS synchronization process with a mobile handheld devices is disclosed.

According to the claimed commissioning method and/or the commissioning system for the commissioning of field devices 6 of a process automation system, a mobile handheld device 2, in particular a smartphone or netbook, is used for the administration and/or commissioning of one or more devices by identifying wireless communicating devices, providing and allowing and/or enabling a remote operation method for the devices being remote from one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces , which communication interfaces allow direct or indirect physical access to further physical devices or communication network and/or security management system and/or control system via integration components 12,16, and/or storing any combination of the information which is synchronized with the device management master 4 automatically upon the connection to one communication interface or following the connection upon a user request 800, wherein the synchronized information contains at least one of:

e. device identification information,

f. security credentials,

g. device communication status such as join state in wireless networks, h. time-stamps or time-stamp history for the change of any of the previous items. The communication interfaces may provide a data link/connection and access to essential/typical functions and integration components of an exemplary system according to the invention, like a path finder function 14b, which is aware of any device or network integration component 12 and which accesses a network integration component 12 to detect the available protocol handlers 4; this component thus can enumerate engineered or infer implicit communication paths that may reflect actually available paths in the physical world, and/or a communication director function 14d, which is aware of any device or network integration component 12 and the paths enumerated by the path finder function 14b and which accesses the network integration component 12 to make use of the available protocol handlers; this component thus can direct communication requests in a manner that they reach another interface from which the physical component to be accessed is actually reachable.

According to fig. 8 starting from idle condition by request 800 a synchronization with/of a mobile handheld device, in particular the smartphone or netbook, is initiated and executed, wherein stepwise by using the path finder function 14b possible mobile handheld devices are enumerated 810 and/or the respective mobile handheld device is contacted/accessed and a direct upload 820 from the mobile handheld device using the communication director function 14d and the network integration component 12 is initiated and executed.

Furthermore, device communication parameters 830 and/or security credentials for the device are procured 840 by use of a network integration component 12.

and device instance 16 or device integration component.

In a further step 850 device management system data, in particular device management master, and mobile handheld device data are reconciled.

Then, the reconciled data are downloaded to the mobile handheld device in a further step 860.

This in deed means that stored device information and communication status for a number of selected devices, in particular field devices, is updated by means of connections 12,16,14b,14d of the mobile handheld device 2 to the selected devices 6, either automatically, in particular on a periodically time basis, or on demand, in par- ticular upon user request, wherein security credentials for a number of selected devices 6 are created within the mobile handheld device and wherein

a. the creation of credentials is triggered explicitly by the user of the mobile device or

b. the creation of credentials is automatically offered to be performed if a device 6 is connected, which is not communicating and for which device no credentials have been stored in advance and which device is not already joining the communication network or has not already joined the communication network.

The synchronization with the mobile hand held device works both ways: device parameters may be downloaded from offline engineering, but changes in the field or values from preparameterized devices may also be uploaded through it.

In addition, the mobile handheld device may store a log of field activities, like in particular encountered devices, device health, performed actions, with a time-stamp. A thus information system is better prepared to keep the users informed about the status of the field and it can better support troubleshooting for devices which are unreachable through other means.

The present invention also comprises any combination of preferred embodiments as well as individual features and developments provided they do not exclude each other.

Claims

1. Process automation system comprising at least one field device, a device management system, a wireless communication network and at least one data processing unit, wherein the device management system provides a functionality to perform and execute the handling and managing, in particular the synchronization, of security credentials and other device parameters for fieldbuses and/or field devices, wherein a mobile handheld device is provided to support a synchronization of said security credentials between the management device system and the at least one field device,

i. wherein a first interface, wired or wireless, in particular USB, WiFi, Bluetooth or the like, is provided to connect the mobile handheld device to and/or to exchange data with the security management system and/or control system to perform and execute at least the synchronization of security credentials, and

ii. wherein a second interface, wired or wireless, in particular FSK, Wireless HART, RFID, or the like, is provided to connect the mobile handheld device to and/or to exchange data with at least one field device,

iii. wherein a display and/or input device, in particular a touchscreen with a keyboard and display functionality, is provided to display status information on credentials synchronization with field devices in the field and/or to alert a respective user about problem conditions and/or to prompt them for decisions in case of existing or arising problem conditions, and at least one data storage is provided as part of the security management system with stored security credentials, wherein the credentials are stored in an accessible and downloadable manner.

2. Process automation system according to claim 1 , characterized in that the mobile handheld device is configured and equipped to supply additional power from its internal power source to any of the connected devices in order to allow them to perform without restriction from their own power source such as

a. continuously listening and checking for wireless advertisements thus maximally speeding up the join process

b. increasing the precision of a site survey function built into the device.

3. Process automation system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the mobile handheld device comprises a Real Time Clock (RTC, 38) and/or a data storage to store a commissioning log including a time-stamp, in particular as a time series.

4. Process automation system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mobile handheld device provides a data storage to store and secure site survey information.

5. Process automation system according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that the mobile handheld device comprises a wireless spectrum analyzer or sniffer for at least one wireless protocol to check and search for wireless advertisements as well as wireless communicating devices.

6. Process automation system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mobile handheld device provides a wireless site survey function ("sniffer") for co-existing networks using the same band but other protocols, in particular such as WiFi, or for other networks or network protocols using a different band than the wireless fieldbus protocol, wherein during wireless site survey, the radio properties of a number of defined locations are determined, according to the fact that these properties influence the Quality of Service of the wireless communication and/or communication network and are considered during wireless network layout, and/or the field devices themselves are used as sources for site survey information and accordingly the survey information is always in the context of a, in particular traceable, device tag.

7. Process automation system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device management system and/or the mobile device itself determines the spatial location of the mobile device by means of

a. an integrated GPS unit of the mobile device,

b. cell phone technologies such as UMTS, GPRS and/or LTE, c. triangulation from wireless networks, including but not restricted to

i. WirelessHART

ii. WiFi

d. an integrated scanning unit for the scanning of area tags using i. visuals like barcodes

ii. radio near-field communication like RFID

8. Commissioning method for the commissioning of field devices of a process automation system according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, wherein a mobile handheld device (2), in particular a handheld, is used for the administration and/or commissioning of one or more devices (6) by identifying wireless communicating devices (6), providing and allowing and/or enabling a remote operation method for the devices (6) being remote from one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces, which communication interfaces allow direct or indirect physical access to further physical devices or communication network and/or security management system and/or control system via integration components, and/or storing any combination of the following information which is synchronized with the device management master (4) automatically upon the connection to one communication interface or following the connection upon a user request, wherein the synchronized information contains at least one of:

i. device identification information,

j. security credentials, k. device communication status such as join state in wireless networks,

I. time-stamps or time-stamp history for the change of any of the previous items.

9. Method according claim 8, characterized in that stored device information and communication status for a number of selected devices, in particular field devices, is updated by means of connections of the mobile handheld device, in particular a handheld (2), to the selected devices (6), either automatically, in particular on a periodically time basis, or on demand, in particular upon user request.

10. Method according to one of the preceding claims 8 or 9, characterized in that security credentials for a number of selected devices (6) are created within the mobile handheld device, wherein

c. the creation of credentials is triggered explicitly by the user of the mobile device or

d. the creation of credentials is automatically offered to be performed if a device (6) is connected which is not communicating and for which device no credentials have been stored in advance and which device is not already joining the communication network or has not already joined the communication network.

11. Method according to one of the preceding claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the network identifier is derived or generated

a. from a single predefined default network ID,

b. by prompting the user to select a network ID from a supplied list, c. by the user manually entering it,

d. using a location-based or location depending network key,

and/or

e. listening to advertisements of the gateways and making a communication-optimized selection based on Quality of Service criteria such as the signal strength, the delay time, delay time variation or jitter, the bandwidth, and packet loss parameters on the network respectively.

12. Method according to one of the preceding claims 8 to 11 , characterized in that the location is determined by using

a. a GPS signal,

i. WirelessHART

ii. WiFi

d. a scanning function for the scanning of area tags using

i. visuals like barcodes

ii. radio near-field communication like RFID

to determine coordinates and to perform a coordinate-to-network mapping previously stored on the mobile device.

13. Method according to one of the preceding claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the network survey is done and/or taken from within the devices.

14. Method according to one of the preceding claims 8 to13, characterized in that time-stamps are selectively added and/or applied to a defined subset of the stored data.