Remote Internet control of instruments

• US 20020065898A1
• Filed: 08/15/2001
• Published: 05/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Newport Electronics, Inc (Spectris PLC)
• Original Assignee: Newport Electronics, Inc (Spectris PLC)
• Inventors: Nastase, Stefan Serban, Hollander, Steven, Leontiev, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/929,039
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065898A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/208
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/00 Programme-control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24048 Remote test, monitoring, diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31186 TCP-IP internet protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• 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: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The invention relates to the control and supervision of instruments and apparatus, such as controllers, panel meters, transmitters, signal conditioners and the like, for use in the operation, supervision and control of, for example industrial machinery plant and processes. The invention provides an apparatus and method whereby information derived from instrumentation which monitors, and if need be controls, for example, industrial machinery plant or processes, is passed via the Internet/Ethernet to a supervisor or a supervising instrumentation. Conversely, instructions for modifying the operation of said instruments and apparatus may be passed from the supervisor or supervising instrumentation via the Internet/Ethernet to the instrumentation which monitors and controls the plant or process. Preferably provision is made for each item of monitoring and control instrumentation to be provided with a different Internet/Ethernet address.

Claims

1. Apparatus, for controlling and supervising an operation at a remote location, comprising:

(1) a controlling and supervising means,

(2) web server equipment connected to said controlling and supervising means to enable it to be connected to the Internet/Ethernet;

(3) an Internet/Ethernet hub;

(4) control and supervising devices coupled to said hub.

2. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control and supervising means are coupled to said hub via means permitting operation of ⅛

DIN and ⅙

DIN devices.

3. Apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, further including means for transmitting information from said control and supervising devices in the form of E-mail.

4. The method of operating apparatus for controlling and supervising an operation at a remote location, which comprises steps of:

(1) feeding information from means, for controlling and supervising said operation, to a web server;

(2) transmitting said information via said web server to the Internet/Ethernet;

(3) receiving said information from the Internet/Ethernet,

(4) using said received information to modify said operation.