Remote monitoring of total liquid intake

• US 10,473,504 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2015
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• 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): Alkafawi, Eman A
• Application Number:
  US14/844,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20150379855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,531 Days
• Field of Search: 702 55, 702188
• 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:

sending a command over a wireless communication network to a control board, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting sensor data in real-time from a plurality of sensors at the remote assets, each sensor measuring a liquid level at each of the remote assets, each sensor is associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of the sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at a respective remote asset, and wherein the control board compiles the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, and each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor;

receiving the at least one compiled packet sent from the control board over the wireless communications network

executing instructions stored in a memory by a processor, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor examines the plurality of sets of sensor data included in the at least one compiled packet to;

identify which of the remote assets is associated with the respective unit identifier,

identify each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier included in the at least one compiled packet,

extract the plurality of sets of sensor data from the at least one compiled packet, and

generate a display of a sensor listing, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data;

storing the plurality of sets of sensor data in the memory; and

identifying whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensor data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated with a predetermined liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition.

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

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising identifying whether the sensor data includes real-time measurements of liquid levels that meet any of the defined alarm levels.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the defined alarm levels is met, and further comprising generating an alarm notification.

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

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated display further comprises historical data regarding the liquid level associated with the alarm condition over a period of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated display comprises graphical data regarding the liquid level associated with the alarm condition.

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

a communication interface that;

sends a command over a wireless communication network to a control board, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting sensor data in real-time from a plurality of sensors at the remote assets, each sensor measuring a liquid level at each of the remote assets each sensor is associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of the sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at a respective remote asset, and wherein the control board compiles the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, and each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor,

receives the at least one compiled packet sent from the control board over the wireless communications network;

a memory; and

a processor for executing instructions stored in the memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor examines the plurality of sets of sensed data to;

identify which of the remote assets is associated with the respective unit identifier,

identify each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier,

extract the plurality of sets of sensed data from the at least one compiled packet,

generate a display of a sensor listing, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data, and the memory further stores the plurality of sets of sensor data, and

identify whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated with a predetermined liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition.

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

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

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least one of the defined alarm levels is met, and wherein the processor executes further instructions to generate an alarm notification.

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

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the generated display further comprises historical data regarding the liquid level associated with the alarm condition over a period of time.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the generated display comprises graphical data regarding the liquid level associated with the alarm condition.

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:

sending a command over a wireless communication network to a control board, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting sensor data in real-time from a plurality of sensors at the remote assets, each sensor measuring a liquid level at each of the remote assets, each sensor is associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of the sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at a respective remote asset, and wherein the control board compiles the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, and each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor;

receiving the at least one compiled packet sent from the control board over the wireless communications network,

identifying which of the remote assets is associated with the respective unit identifier;

identifying each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier included in the at least one compiled packet and the respective unit identifier included in the at least one compiled packet;

extracting the plurality of sets of sensed data from the at least one compiled packet;

generating a display of a sensor listing, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data;

storing the plurality of sets of sensed data in memory; and

identifying whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated with a predetermined liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising identifying one or more alarm levels based on user input of a minimum liquid level.

17. A method for monitoring a liquid level in real-time, the method comprising:

receiving a command sent from a server over a wireless communication network to a control board;

executing the command via a processor executing instructions out of a memory of the control board, wherein the command instructs the control board to begin collecting liquid level data in real-time from a plurality of sensors at one or more identified remote locations and each sensor is associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at a respective remote asset;

compiling the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respecitve set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor; and

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

identifies which of the remote assets is associated with the respective unit identifier;

identifies each sensor that collected the each set respective of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier included in the at least one compiled packet,

extracts the plurality of sets of sensed data from the at least one compiled packet,

generates a display of a sensor listing that identifies, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data,

stores the plurality of sets of sensed data in a memory, and

identifies whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated with a particular liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition.

18. A system for monitoring a liquid level in real-time, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensors each sensor associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at the respective location;

a control board coupled to the plurality of sensors that receives sensor data;

a communication interface that receives a command sent from a server over a wireless communication network to the control board;

a memory; and

a processor that executes instructions out of the memory to execute the received command, wherein execution of the received command begins collection of liquid level data in real-time from the plurality of sensors, wherein the processor compiles the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor, and the communication interface sends the compiled packet over the wireless communication network to the server and the server;

identifies a remote asset that is associated with the respective unit identifier;

identifies each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier included in the at least one compiled packet,

extracts the plurality of sets of sensed data from the data compiled packet,

generates a display that identifies each of the plurality of sensors, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data,

stores the plurality of sets of sensed data in a memory of the server; and

identifies whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated digital sensor a predetermined liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition, the alarm resulting in a corrective action being initiated.

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

receiving a command sent from a server over a wireless communication network to a control board;

executing the command to begin collecting data in real-time from a plurality of sensors at one or more remote locations, wherein the sensor data collected in real-time is compiled into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor;

and

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

identifies a remote asset that is associated with the respective unit identifier,

identify each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier,

extracts the plurality of sets of sensed data from the at least one compiled packet,

generates a display identifying each of the plurality of sensors, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data;

stores the plurality of sets of sensed data in memory, and

identifies whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected in real-time, wherein an alarm associated with a particular liquid level is activated based on meeting an alarm condition.

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

a plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a unique sensor identifier that specifies a type of the sensor and a unit identifier associated with a monitoring device at a respective remote asset;

a control board that is communicatively coupled to the digital sensor via the digital sensor communication interface; and

a server that;

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

sends a command over a wireless communication network, wherein execution of the command begins collection of liquid level data in real-time by the control board, the collected real-time liquid level data including the sensor liquid level data, wherein the control board;

receives the command from the server,

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

compiles the collected sensor data collected in real-time from the plurality of sensors into at least one data packet according to a format, the at least one compiled packet including a plurality of sets of sensor data, each respective set of sensor data associated with a different one of the sensors as identified by a respective unique sensor identifier and a respective unit identifier associated with the monitoring device, each respective set of sensor data further associated with a respective time when each respective set of sensor data was collected responsive to the command by the respective sensor,

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

identifies which of the remote assets is associated with the respective unit identifier,

identifies each sensor that collected each respective set of sensor data at the identified remote asset the sensor data at the identified remote asset based on the respective unique sensor identifier and the respective unit identifier included in the at least one compiled packet,

extracts the plurality of sets of sensed data from the at least one compiled packet,

generates a display that identifies each of the plurality of sensors, wherein each of the plurality of sensors are listed with an associated liquid level measurement from the extracted sets of sensor data and the identified sensor for each extracted set of sensor data, and

stores the plurality of sets of sensed data in a memory, and

identifies whether a liquid level associated with the plurality of sets of sensed data indicates a normal level at the time when the sensor data was collected, wherein an alarm associated with a particular liquid level is activated based on meeting alarm condition.