System for Supermarket Energy Management
First Claim
1. A system of managing supermarket refrigeration information systems comprising:
- one or more on-site computers for receiving data and data updates from and operably connected with one or more on-site refrigeration control systems, wherein the on-site computer has a processor and software for translating the data and data updates into a generic data structure and one or more databases for storing the translated data and data updates;
a communication network operably connecting the on-site computers with a central server and for transmitting a copy of each database to a corresponding central server database;
a central server having one or more databases for storing a copy of each on-site computer database, a processor, and software for;
i) repetitively detecting, at a selected timing interval, that the on-site database contains data updates, ii) making a copy of the updated on-site database, iii) replacing the corresponding copy on the central server with the updated copy; and
iv) organizing, drilling, and presenting data to a user from the updated copy of the database on the central server, in response to a query of the user, without retrieving the data individually from the on-site computer;
a second communication network operably connecting the central server with one or more user computers and which is capable of transmitting data therebetween.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to the field of supermarket refrigeration & HVAC control. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for concurrent and remote management of multiple supermarket refrigeration systems located at one or more retail sites. Embodiments may include at least one on-site computer, at least one central server, at least one user computer, one or more communication network, and one or more on-site refrigeration control systems. In embodiments, the on-site computer communicates with the on-site refrigeration control system(s), which may be the same or different, and multiple on-site computers and/or different store locations may be used. The on-site computer is capable of translating data received from these various refrigeration control systems into a single system-friendly generic format and the translated data is stored on the on-site computer. This data is intermittently copied and stored on a central server. Meanwhile, data and more particularly data updates are sent from the refrigeration control system to the on-site computer for storage. At a desired interval, for example every five minutes, the central server detects whether the information on the on-site computer is different from the information on the server. When there has been an update, the server downloads the current information in bulk from the on-site computer. The information on the server is then accessed by one or more users to manage the refrigeration control systems, optionally remotely. In contrast with other existing refrigeration control management systems, systems and methods of the present invention can be used with multiple legacy refrigeration control systems, including old and new versions of a system from one particular OEM provider, and/or different models from one particular OEM provider, and/or different versions or models from several different OEM providers. These systems and methods provide for compatibility between different control systems, which does not currently exist. Benefits of the inventive systems and methods include being capable of delivering information to a user, in response to a user query, faster than systems in which the user computer communicates with and obtains data stored on the legacy system itself.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system of managing supermarket refrigeration information systems comprising:
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one or more on-site computers for receiving data and data updates from and operably connected with one or more on-site refrigeration control systems, wherein the on-site computer has a processor and software for translating the data and data updates into a generic data structure and one or more databases for storing the translated data and data updates; a communication network operably connecting the on-site computers with a central server and for transmitting a copy of each database to a corresponding central server database; a central server having one or more databases for storing a copy of each on-site computer database, a processor, and software for;
i) repetitively detecting, at a selected timing interval, that the on-site database contains data updates, ii) making a copy of the updated on-site database, iii) replacing the corresponding copy on the central server with the updated copy; and
iv) organizing, drilling, and presenting data to a user from the updated copy of the database on the central server, in response to a query of the user, without retrieving the data individually from the on-site computer;a second communication network operably connecting the central server with one or more user computers and which is capable of transmitting data therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of managing a supermarket refrigeration information system comprising:
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a) receiving information from one or more on-site refrigeration control systems; b) translating the information with one or more on-site computers operably configured to receive and translate the information into a generic data structure; c) storing the translated information in one or more databases on or associated with the on-site computer; d) transferring a copy of the database on the on-site computer to one or more databases located on a central server; e) polling the on-site computer to determine if an information update has been stored on the database of the on-site computer; f) upon detection of a change, transferring a copy of the on-site database containing data updates to a database on the central server. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification