Wireless dongle with computing capability for equipment control and method of operation thereof

• US 20030206542A1
• Filed: 05/03/2002
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Holder, Helen A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,551,628 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0492 by using a location-limited connection, e.g. near-field communication or limited proximity of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity

Abstract

The present invention includes a dongle, with embedded computing capability, placed in a communication path and capable of passing information from a control device through a smart gateway to a machine, the dongle comprising a network interface configured to receive instructions and an associated identification number from an access point; a machine interface configured to interface with a machine; a memory for storing instructions; and a processor configured to execute the instructions.

Claims

1. A dongle, with embedded computing capability, placed in a communication path and capable of passing information from a control device through a smart gateway to a machine, the dongle comprising:

a network interface configured to receive instructions and an associated identification number from an access point;

a machine interface configured to interface with the machine;

a memory for storing instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions.

2. The dongle of claim 1 wherein the memory further stores instructions for transforming the received instructions into machine control commands.

3. The dongle of claim 1 wherein the machine interface is configured as a serial port interface and wherein the network interface is configured as a wireless network interface.

4. The dongle of claim 1 wherein the memory further includes instructions for processing the received instructions when it is determined that the received instruction is designated for the dongle.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the memory further includes instructions for determining that the received instruction is designated for the dongle if the identification number matches a dongle identification number stored in memory.

6. The dongle of claim 1 wherein the memory further includes instructions for receiving a response from the machine and for transmitting the response to the access point.

7. A method for transmitting instructions to a machine using a dongle connected to the machine and placed in a communication path, the dongle selectively passes a signal to the machine in response to wireless receipt of a valid address and an instruction, comprising the steps of:

receiving an instruction transmitted by a control device in a dongle, wherein the dongle has embedded computing capability to control a machine and wherein the dongle is connected to the machine;

processing the received instruction; and

transmitting the processed instruction to a machine.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein processing the instruction further includes the step of transforming the instruction into machine control commands.

9. The method of claim 7 further including the steps of:

transmitting an instruction including at least one identification number from a wireless device to the control device using a wireless protocol, wherein the instruction controls a plurality of machines;

processing the instruction in at least one dongle; and

transmitting the processed instruction to a machine connected to the dongle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein processing the instruction further includes the step of determining if the at least one identification number matches a dongle identification number associated with the dongle and, if so, processing the received instruction.

11. The method of claim 7 further including the steps of:

receiving a response from the machine; and

transmitting the response to the control device.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein receiving the instruction further includes the step of directly receiving the instruction from the control device using short range radio links.

13. A system for transmitting instructions to a machine using a dongle placed in a communication path and connected to the machine, the dongle selectively passes signals to the machine in response to wireless receipt of a valid address and an instruction, comprising:

a memory for storing instructions for receiving an instruction transmitted by an access point in a dongle, for processing the received instruction, and for transmitting the processed instruction to a machine;

a processor configured to execute the instructions;

a network interface configured to receive instructions from an access point; and

a machine interface configured to transmit processed received instructions to a machine.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the memory further stores instructions for transforming the instruction into machine control commands.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the memory further stores instructions for receiving an instruction including at least one identification number from a wireless device to the access point using a wireless protocol, wherein the instruction controls a plurality of machines;

and

wherein the machine interface is configured to transmit the processed instruction to a machine connected to the dongle.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the memory further includes instructions for determining if the at least one identification number matches a dongle identification number associated with the dongle and, if so, processing the received instruction.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the machine interface is further configured to receive a response from the machine and wherein the network interface is configured to transmit the response to the access point.