Equipment service vehicle with remote monitoring
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- (A) an equipment service vehicle including (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links, and the on-board computer system storing I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices;
(B) an off-board computer system, wherein the on-board computer system transmits at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to the off-board computer system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system comprises an equipment service vehicle and an off-board computer system. The equipment service vehicle further includes a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, and an on-board computer system. The on-board computer system further includes a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network. The plurality of interface modules are coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link and are interconnected to each other by way of the communication network. Each of the plurality of interface modules is coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links. The on-board computer system stores I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices. The on-board computer system transmits at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to the off-board computer system.
439 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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(A) an equipment service vehicle including (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links, and the on-board computer system storing I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices;
(B) an off-board computer system, wherein the on-board computer system transmits at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to the off-board computer system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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(A) a fleet of equipment service vehicles, each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles comprising (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links, and the on-board computer system storing I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices;
(B) an off-board computer system, the off-board computer system being capable of being connected to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication network, the off-board computer system being capable of generating a report that compares utilization information for each of the plurality of vehicles. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system comprising:
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(A) an equipment service vehicle including (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) a communication network, and (6) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links; and
(B) an off-board computer system;
wherein the off-board computer system transmits test commands to the on-board computer system, the test commands being transmitted from the off-board computer system to the on-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link;
wherein the on-board computer system performs tests on the vehicle in response to the test commands from the off-board computer system;
wherein the on-board computer system receives the health and operation information in response to the tests being performed, the health and operation information indicating that the equipment service vehicle has a part in need of replacing; and
wherein the on-board communication transmits the health and operation information to the off-board computer system by way of the wireless radio-frequency communication link. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system comprising:
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(A) an equipment service vehicle including (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) a communication network, and (6) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links; and
(B) an off-board computer system, the off-board computer system being capable of being connected to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication network, and wherein the off-board computer system transmits a firmware upgrade to the on-board computer system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A system comprising:
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(A) a fleet of vehicles, each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles comprising (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links, the plurality of interface modules being distributed throughout the vehicle;
(B) an off-board computer system, the off-board computer system being capable of being connected to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication network, the off-board computer system being capable of sending commands to the on-board computer system of each of the vehicles to test output devices of the equipment service vehicle by manipulating the output devices on the equipment service vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A system comprising:
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(A) a fleet of vehicles, each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles comprising (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links, the plurality of interface modules being distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module being locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled so as to permit, by way of the respective dedicated communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices, and the on-board computer system storing I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices;
(B) an off-board computer system, the off-board computer system being capable of being connected to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication network, the off-board computer system being capable of sending commands to the on-board computer system of each of the vehicles to test output devices of the equipment service vehicle by manipulating output devices on the equipment service vehicle.
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Specification