Monitoring remote environmental conditions

• US 10,378,945 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2015
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arthroscopic Surgery Associates Corporation
• Original Assignee: Arthroscopic Surgery Associates Corporation
• Inventors: Glenn, Gregory M., Silva, Damon, Henry, Timothy
• Primary Examiner(s): Sun, Yu-Hsi D
• Application Number:
  US14/662,522
• Publication Number:
  US 20150192448A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,608 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/80 Arrangements for signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A server system for remote monitoring includes a wireless communication interface, a processor, and a storage device. The wireless communication interface receives at least one data packet over wireless communications from a remote monitoring system. The processor processes the data packet including sensor information from a sensor coupled to the remote monitoring system. The storage device stores the sensor information.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring remote assets in real-time, the method comprising:

identifying that a first wireless communication network is currently more reliable for communicating with a control board at a remote site than a second wireless communication network based on receipt of a first signal received via a first type of wireless communication interface being found more consistent than a second signal received via a second type of wireless communication interface;

selecting the first wireless communication network for sending wireless communications to the control board;

sending a command over the first wireless communication network to the control board via the first type of wireless communication interface, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting data in real-time from a plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets at different locations, each sensor of the plurality of sensors measuring a volume of liquid handled by each asset of the set of remote assets;

receiving a packet sent from the control board over the first wireless communications network, the packet including a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data derived from sensor data sensed by the first sensor concerning a real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention;

executing instructions stored in the by a processor to;

extract the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identify that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identify that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet,

identify that the extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of sensor data based on the known convention;

reintroduce the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored; and

generate a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the sensor data with the first sensor;

storing the sensor listing in a memory;

identifying that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition; and

sending an alarm via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining one or more alarm levels based on user input of a minimum volume of liquid.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising identifying that the sensor data includes real-time measurements of volume that meet at least one of the defined alarm levels.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the defined alarm levels is met, and the method further comprising preparing the alarm to be sent when the sensor data is identified as corresponding to the alarm condition.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated display further comprises location information for each of the plurality of sensors.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated display further comprises historical data regarding volumes of liquid associated with one of the different locations over a period of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated display comprises graphical data regarding volumes of liquid associated with one of the different locations.

8. An apparatus for monitoring remote assets in real-time, the apparatus comprising:

a first type of wireless communication interface;

a second type of wireless communication interface;

a memory; and

a processor executing instructions out of the memory to;

identify that a first wireless communication network is currently more reliable for communicating with a control board at a remote site than a second wireless communication network based on receipt of a first signal received via the first type of wireless communication interface being found more consistent than a second signal received via the second type of wireless communication interface, and

select the first wireless communication network for sending wireless communications to the control board, wherein the first type of communication interface;

sends a command over the first wireless communication network to the control board, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting data in real-time from a plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets at different locations, each sensor of the plurality of sensors measuring a volume of liquid handled by each asset of the set of remote assets, and

receives a packet sent from the control board over the first wireless communications network, the packet including a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data derived from sensor data sensed by the first sensor concerning at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention, and the processor further executes instructions out of the memory to;

extract the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identify that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identify that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet,

identify that the extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of sensor data based on the known convention,

reintroduce the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored,

generate a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the sensor data with the first sensor,

store the sensor data in the memory, and

identify that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition, wherein an alarm is sent via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor executes further instructions to define one or more alarm levels based on user input of a minimum volume of liquid.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor executes further instructions to identify that the sensor data includes real-time measurements of volume that meet any of the defined alarm levels.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the defined alarm levels is met and the processor executes further instructions to prepare the alarm to be sent when the sensor data is identified as corresponding to the alarm condition.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the generated display further comprises location information for each of the plurality of sensors.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the generated display further comprises historical data regarding volumes of liquid associated with one of the different locations over a period of time.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the generated display comprises graphical data regarding volumes of liquid associated with one of the different locations.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for monitoring remote assets in real-time, the method comprising:

identifying that a first wireless communication network is currently more reliable for communicating with a control board at a remote site than a second wireless communication network based on receipt of a first signal received via a first type of wireless communication interface being found more consistent than a second signal received via a second type of wireless communication interface;

selecting the first wireless communication network for sending wireless communications to the control board;

sending a command over the first wireless communication network to the control board via the first type of wireless communication interface, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting data in real-time from a plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets at different locations, each sensor of the plurality of sensors measuring a volume of liquid handled by each asset of the set of remote assets;

receiving a packet sent from the control board over the first wireless communications network, the packet including a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data derived from sensor data sensed by the first sensor concerning a real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention;

extracting the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the portion of sensor data from the received packet;

identifying that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet;

identifying a that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet;

identifying that the extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of the sensor data based on the known convention;

reintroducing the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored;

generating a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the sensor data with the first sensor;

storing the sensor listing in the memory;

identifying that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition; and

sending an alarm via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the program further comprises executable instructions for defining one or more alarm levels based on user input of a minimum volume of liquid.

17. A method for monitoring volumes of liquid in real-time, the method comprising:

receiving a command sent via a first type of communication interface that is associated with a server, the communication sent over a first wireless communication network to a control board at a remote site, wherein the communication is sent to the control board over the first wireless communication interface based on an identification that the first wireless communication network is more reliable than a second wireless communication network based on receipt of a first signal received via a first type of wireless communication interface being found more consistent than a second signal received via a second type of wireless communication interface;

executing the command via a processor of the control board that executes instructions out of a memory, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting volume data in real-time from a plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets at one or more remote locations, each sensor of the plurality of sensors measuring a volume of liquid handled by each asset of the set of remote assets;

compiling a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data derived from sensor data sensed by the first sensor into at least one packet, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention and the sensor data is associated with at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor;

sending the compiled packet over the wireless communication network to the server, wherein the server;

extracts the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identifies that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identifies that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet,

identifies that the extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of the sensor data based on the known convention,

reintroduces the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored,

generates a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the sensor data with the first sensor, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with a corresponding real-time measurement of the volume of liquid handled by each of the assets of the set of remote assets;

stores the sensor listing in the memory,

identifies that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition; and

sends an alarm via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

18. A system for monitoring volumes of liquid in real-time, the system comprising:

a first type of communication interface that receives a command sent from a server over a first wireless communication network to a control board at a remote site, wherein the communication is sent to the control board over the first wireless communication based on an identification that the first wireless communication network is more reliable than a second wireless communication network based on the receipt of a first signal received via a first type of wireless communication interface being more consistent than a second signal that can be received via a second type of wireless communication interface, and the first and the second type of wireless communication interfaces are two communication interfaces from a plurality of communication interfaces;

a sensor interface communicatively coupled to a plurality of sensors at one or more remote locations, each sensor of the plurality of sensors measuring a different volume of liquid, the sensor interface configured to receive sensor data from each sensor concerning real-time measurements of a set of associated volumes of liquid at the one or more locations;

a processor that executes the received command, wherein execution of the received command;

begins collection of data in real-time from the plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets located at one or more remote locations; and

compiles a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data associated with at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with a first sensor of the plurality of sensors into at least one packet, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention, and the sensor data is associated with at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor, and the server;

extracts the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the at least portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identifies that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identifies that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet,

identifies that the extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of the sensor data based on the known convention,

reintroduces the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored, and

generates a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the first amount of sensor data with the first sensor,

stores the sensor data in a memory, and executes instructions out of the memory to identify that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition, wherein an alarm is sent via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for monitoring volumes of liquid in real-time, the method comprising:

receiving a command sent from a first type of communication interface that is associated with a server, the communication sent over a first wireless communication network to a control board at a remote site, wherein the communication is sent to the control board over the first wireless communication based on identifying that the first wireless communication network is more reliable than a second wireless communication network based on receipt of a first signal received via a first type of wireless communication interface being found more consistent than a second signal received via a second type of wireless communication interface;

executing the command, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collection volume data in real-time from a plurality of sensors associated with a set of remote assets located at one or more remote locations;

compiling a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, and a portion of sensor data derived from sensor data sensed by the first sensor into at least one packet, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention and the sensor data is associated with at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with a the first sensor;

sending the compiled packet over the first wireless communication network to the server, wherein the server;

extracts the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identifies that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identifies that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet, wherein the extracted sensor data is indicative of the real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor,

identifies that extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of the sensor data based at least in part on the known convention,

reintroduces the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored,

generates a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating that associates the sensor data with the first sensor, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with a corresponding real-time measurement of the volume of liquid handled by each of the assets of the set of remote assets,

stores the sensor listing in a memory,

identifies that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition, and

sends an alarm via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.

20. A system for monitoring remote volumes of liquid, the system comprising:

a server that;

receives an access request from a user regarding real-time measurement of volumes of liquid at one or more remote locations, and

sends a command over a wireless communication network, wherein execution of the command begins collection of volume data in real-time;

a plurality of sensors at the one or more remote locations, each sensor measuring a volume of liquid; and

a control board at a remote site that is associated with the plurality of sensors, wherein the control board;

receives the command from the server,

executes the command via a processor to begin collecting volume data in real-time from the plurality of sensors,

compiles a unique identifier that identifies the remote site, a sensor identifier that identifies a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, a portion of sensor data from sensor data sensed by the first sensor into at least one packet, and volume data associated with a plurality of real-time measurements of a set of associated liquid volumes, wherein the portion of the sensor data is formed by stripping extraneous data from the sensor data sensed by the first sensor based on a known convention and the sensor data is associated with at least one real-time measurement of a volume of liquid that is associated with the first sensor,

sends the at least one packet over the wireless communication network to the server, wherein the server;

extracts the unique identifier, the sensor identifier, and the at least portion of sensor data from the received packet,

identifies that the received packet was transmitted from the control board at the remote site based on the unique identifier included in the packet,

identifies a that the first sensor is associated with the packet based at least in part on the sensor identifier being included in the packet,

identifies that extraneous data is to be reintroduced into the portion of the sensor data based on the known convention,

reintroduces the extraneous data into the portion of the sensor data, wherein the sensor data as sensed by the first sensor is restored, and

generates a display of a sensor listing based at least in part on the restored sensor data, the generated display associating the sensor data with the first sensor,

stores the sensor data in memory, and

executes instructions out of the memory to identify that the sensor data corresponds to an alarm condition, wherein an alarm is sent via at least one communication interface of the plurality of communication interfaces when the sensor data corresponds to the alarm condition.