System and method for machine parameter analysis in wireless field units

1. A system comprising:

a field unit, the field unit to:

receive, from a base station, at least one analysis parameter designating at least one threshold value against which a machine parameter monitored by a machine sensor is compared;

receive, at a wireless transceiver of the field unit, a signal representing the machine parameter;

analyze, at a processor of the field unit, the signal based on the at least one analysis parameter to generate a representation of the machine parameter; and

wirelessly transmit, from the wireless transceiver of the field unit, the representation of the machine parameter for reception by the base station.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the base station.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the machine sensor.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine parameter comprises vibration.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a tachometer; and

wherein the field unit is further to:

receive a rotational speed reading from the tachometer; and

analyze the signal based on the rotational speed reading to generate the representation of the machine parameter.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one analysis parameter comprises at least one of: a machine operation speed, a threshold value, a format for the representation of the machine parameter, and an indicator protocol.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the representation of the machine parameter comprises at least one of: a root mean square (RMS) value within a band, a peak value within a band, variance within a band, a result of an orbit plot, and a threshold indicator.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the threshold indicator comprises an alarm.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the field unit further comprises at least one battery.

10. A method comprising:

wirelessly transmitting, from a wireless transceiver of a base station for reception by a field unit, at least one analysis parameter designating at least one threshold value against which a machine parameter monitored by a machine sensor at the field unit is compared; and

receiving, at the wireless transceiver of the base station, a representation of the machine parameter based on the at least one analysis parameter and a signal representing the machine parameter.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the machine parameter comprises vibration.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one analysis parameter comprises at least one of: a machine operation speed, a threshold value, a format for the representation of the machine parameter, and an indicator protocol.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the representation of the machine parameter comprises at least one of: a root mean square (RMS) value within a band, a peak value within a band, variance within a band, a result of an orbit plot, and a threshold indicator.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the machine parameter comprises machine operation speed; and

the field unit obtains the machine operation speed through a database query or an OLE for Process Control (OPC) query.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving, at the base station, a rotational speed reading from a tachometer; and

wirelessly transmitting, from the base station, the rotational speed reading for reception by the field unit.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, at a wireless transceiver of a field unit, at least one analysis parameter from a base station that designates at least one threshold value against which a machine parameter monitored by a machine sensor is compared;

receiving, at the field unit, a signal representing the machine parameter;

analyzing, at a processor of the field unit, the signal based on the at least one analysis parameter to generate a representation of the machine parameter; and

wirelessly transmitting, from the wireless transceiver of the field unit, the representation of the machine parameter for reception by the base station.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the machine parameter comprises vibration.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

receiving, at the field unit, a rotational speed reading from a tachometer.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one analysis parameter comprises at least one of: a machine operation speed, a threshold value, a format for the representation of the machine parameter, and an indicator protocol.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the representation of the machine parameter comprises at least one of: a root mean square (RMS) value within a band, a peak value within a band, variance within a band, a result of an orbit plot and a threshold indicator.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the threshold indicator comprises an alarm.

22. The method of claim 16 , wherein analyzing the signal comprises analyzing an orbit plot of the signal to generate the representation of the machine parameter.

23. The method of claim 16 , wherein the field unit is battery-operated.