Patents by Inventor Thomas W. Snead

Thomas W. Snead has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Flexible input/output devices for use in process control systems
    Patent number: 8761196
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are disclosed that provide flexible input/output device communications in a process control system. In one example, a process control system controls a plurality of field devices. The process control system includes a control device and a communications protocol component. The communications protocol component has at least one communications channel that is selectively configurable to use at least a first or second communications protocol and to communicate with at least one of the field devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Gary Keith Law, Trevor Duncan Schleiss, Kent Burr, Thomas W. Snead, Ronald Dean Eddie
  • Flexible input/output devices for use in process control systems
    Publication number: 20080080395
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are disclosed that provide flexible input/output device communications in a process control system. In one example, a process control system controls a plurality of field devices. The process control system includes a control device and a communications protocol component. The communications protocol component has at least one communications channel that is selectively configurable to use at least a first or second communications protocol and to communicate with at least one of the field devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2006
    Publication date: April 3, 2008
    Inventors: Gary Keith Law, Trevor Duncan Schleiss, Kent Burr, Thomas W. Snead, Ronald Dean Eddie