System and method for remotely monitoring and controlling devices
First Claim
1. A system for remotely managing a physical system, comprising:
- a transducer connected with the device for detecting a state of the physical system and for producing a monitoring signal;
a controller connected to receive the monitoring signal from the transducer and to produce a first communication signal corresponding to the monitoring signal;
a first protocol interface for receiving the first communication signal and for converting the first communication signal into a second communication signal in a format compatible with a data transport format;
a first communication interface comprising a first intermittent data transceiver connected to receive the second communication signal and to transmit the second communication signal as an intermittent data signal in the data transport format;
a second communication interface comprising a second intermittent data transceiver at a remote location from the physical system and operable to receive the intermittent data signal;
a second protocol interface connected with the second communication interface and operative to convert the received intermittent data signal into a data communication signal compatible with a central server;
a central server connected to receive the data communication signal from the second protocol controller, the central server including;
a management environment having a set of rules associated with the physical system, for effecting responsive action to the state of the physical system; and
an HTTP server process for providing user information pertaining to the state of the physical system to a remote user via an HTTP connection.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a system for use in remotely monitoring and controlling devices. The system provides bi-directional control and monitoring functions to allow devices that cannot currently be managed remotely to be monitored and controlled in near real-time from a remote location. Sensors embedded in or on the device, asset or process being monitored record operating and device status data. These sensors transmit device conditions to a communications device (referred to herein as a “communicator”) through a variety of industry-standard device control protocols. The communicator then evaluates the data and, if necessary, converts the data to a compressed protocol for transmission to a centralized gateway server. The compressed protocol has a structure tailored to the needs of monitoring remote devices. At the centralized gateway server, the compressed protocol is converted to an industry-standard device management protocol. The data is then useable by any device management software using that industry standard device management protocol. Preferably, the system provides for the conversion of data streams in near real-time between an industry-standard device control protocol such as, for example, Modbus or BACNet, and the compressed protocol, as well as the conversion of data streams in near real-time between the compressed protocol and an industry-standard device management protocol such as, for example, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). The remote devices that can be managed and/or controlled include but are not limited to HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) devices and other devices used in refrigeration applications (e.g., commercial refrigerators, freezers and refrigerated display cases). Therefore, in preferred embodiments, the system provides for bi-directional data conversion to allow devices not currently manageable by SNMP to be monitored and controlled in near, real-time.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for remotely managing a physical system, comprising:
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a transducer connected with the device for detecting a state of the physical system and for producing a monitoring signal;
a controller connected to receive the monitoring signal from the transducer and to produce a first communication signal corresponding to the monitoring signal;
a first protocol interface for receiving the first communication signal and for converting the first communication signal into a second communication signal in a format compatible with a data transport format;
a first communication interface comprising a first intermittent data transceiver connected to receive the second communication signal and to transmit the second communication signal as an intermittent data signal in the data transport format;
a second communication interface comprising a second intermittent data transceiver at a remote location from the physical system and operable to receive the intermittent data signal;
a second protocol interface connected with the second communication interface and operative to convert the received intermittent data signal into a data communication signal compatible with a central server;
a central server connected to receive the data communication signal from the second protocol controller, the central server including;
a management environment having a set of rules associated with the physical system, for effecting responsive action to the state of the physical system; and
an HTTP server process for providing user information pertaining to the state of the physical system to a remote user via an HTTP connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for remotely managing a physical system, comprising:
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a transducer connected with the device for detecting a state of the physical system and for producing a monitoring signal;
a controller connected to receive the monitoring signal from the transducer and to produce a first communication signal corresponding to the monitoring signal;
a first bi-directional wireless pager interface connected with the controller for receiving and transmitting messages with a wireless pager network;
a second bi-directional wireless pager interface at a remote location from the controller for receiving and transmitting messages with the wireless pager network a central server connected with the second bi-directional wireless pager interface;
the central server configured to execute a management environment having a set of rules associated with the physical system, and for issuing commands to the controller in accordance with said rules, via the second bi-directional wireless pager interface; and
the controller configured for responding to a command received from the central server for operating the first bi-directional wireless pager interface to send said communication signal to the central server. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification