Remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system including handheld wireless equipment
First Claim
1. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system, comprising:
- a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface; and
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system including handheld wireless equipment to obtain operational data and the status of remote machines is disclosed. A plurality of application controllers are interfaced with the remote machines from which operation data is acquired by the application controllers. The application controllers communicate with an application host via a local area network. The application host may communicate with a network operations center using a wide area network. The handheld wireless equipment may be used to obtain operational information for each remote machine from the network operations center.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system, comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface; and
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A remote data acquisition transmission and analysis system for vending machines, comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a vending machine controller of a vending machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
an application host communicating with the application controllers via a local area network, the application host comprising a wide area network interface for communicating with a network operations center; and
the network operation center communicating with the application host via a wide area network to receive the operation data acquired by the application controllers;
the application controllers and the application host operating to auto configure the local area network upon initialization;
the network operation center maintaining a database for the operation data and providing third party access to the database;
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information from the database; and
the handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the application controllers using the local area network. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis, comprising:
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interfacing at least one of application controller with remote machines from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
communicating between an application host and each application controllers;
communicating between the application host and a network operations center using a wide area network interface; and
communicating with the network operations center using handheld wireless equipment and a wide area network to allow the handheld equipment to request new or updated data for the remote machines. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47)
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45. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface;
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines; and
the handheld wireless equipment operable to control operation of the remote machines.
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48. A data acquisition, transmission and analysis system for use with vending machines comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface; and
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the vending machines to obtain data and issue commands to the vending machine by communicating with the network operations center using the wide area network.
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Specification