Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to identify hazardous process conditions associated with devices in a process control system

1. A method to identify a hazardous process control type associated with a process control device, comprising:

automatically detecting that the process control device is coupled to a port on a controller via an intrinsically safe barrier circuit;

detecting information associated with the process control device via the port, wherein the information associated with the device is based on the intrinsically safe barrier circuit;

identifying the hazardous process condition type of the process control device based on the detected information;

in response to identifying the hazardous process condition type, modifying a communication to include a data field indicating that the process control device is located in an area having the identified hazardous process condition type; and

sending the communication including the data field to a computing device to cause a display to include a visual indication of the identified hazardous process condition type in association with the process control device and based on a presence of the data field.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the hazardous process condition type comprises at least one of a potentially explosive condition, a radioactive condition, a biological hazard condition, or a chemical hazard condition.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the controller is an input/output controller.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the port is an input/output port.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the computing device is an operator station of a process control system.

6. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the communication sent to the computing device includes a hazardous process condition property.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the communication sent to the computing device includes a hazardous location classification.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising sending a second communication not including the data field to the computing device to cause the display to include a visual indication that a second process control device is not associated with the identified hazardous process condition type.

9. A process control apparatus, comprising:

an input/output (I/O) port;

a process control device detector coupled to the I/O port to detect that a process control device is coupled to the I/O port;

an intrinsically safe barrier circuit coupled to the I/O port;

an I/O processor to communicate with a process control system based on information received from the process control device, wherein the information is based on the intrinsically safe barrier circuit;

a hazardous process condition detector to determine that the process control device is located in an area associated with a hazardous process condition type; and

a hazardous process condition signal modifier to modify a communication between the I/O processor and the process control system to include a data field indicating that the process control device is located in the area associated with the hazardous process condition type, the data field to cause a display to include a visual indication of the identified hazardous process condition type in association with the process control device.

10. A process control apparatus as defined in claim 9 , wherein the hazardous process condition type comprises at least one of a potentially explosive condition, a radioactive condition, a biological hazard condition, or a chemical hazard condition.

11. A process control apparatus as defined in claim 9 , wherein the process control device detector is to detect that an intrinsically safe process control device is coupled to the I/O port in response to detecting that the process control device is coupled to the intrinsic safety barrier.

12. A process control apparatus as defined in claim 9 , wherein the hazardous process condition signal modifier is to add a hazardous process condition property to the communication.

13. A process control apparatus as defined in claim 9 , wherein the I/O processor transmits the communication to an operator control system to notify a user that the device is intrinsically safe.

14. A tangible non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a computer to at least:

detect that a process control device is coupled to a port on a controller via an intrinsically safe barrier circuit;

detect information associated with the process control device via the port;

identify a hazardous process condition type of the process control device based on the detected information, wherein the information associated with the device is based on the intrinsically safe barrier circuit;

in response to identifying the hazardous process condition type, modify a communication to include a data field indicating that the process control device is located in an area having the identified hazardous process condition type; and

send the communication including the data field to a computing device to cause a display to include a visual indication of the identified hazardous process condition type in association with the process control device and based on a presence of the data field.

15. A storage medium as defined in claim 14 , wherein the hazardous process condition type comprises at least one of a potentially explosive condition, a radioactive condition, a biological hazard condition, or a chemical hazard condition.

16. A storage medium as defined in claim 14 , wherein the information sent to the computing device includes an intrinsically safe device property.