INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) STORAGE DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20180048710A1
• Filed: 08/11/2016
• Published: 02/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Inventors: ALTIN, DANIEL
• Application Number:
  US15/235,057
• Publication Number:
  US 20180048710A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/16 for access to memory bus G06F13/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4068 Electrical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/0042 Universal serial bus [USB]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• 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 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

An IoT system and method for providing work files to a job site. For example, one embodiment of a system comprises: an Internet of Things (IoT) service; and an IoT storage device to provide work files for industrial equipment comprising: a physical storage device to store work files for a work site at which the industrial equipment is to be used; a secure wireless communication module to establish a secure wireless communication channel with the IoT service, wherein a user having an account with the IoT service is to generate the work files and/or an update to the work files from a data processing system communicatively coupled to the IoT service, the IoT service to responsively transmit the work files and/or the update to the work files to the physical storage via the secure wireless communication module; an input/output (I/O) interface to establish a communication channel with the industrial equipment when inserted in an I/O port of the industrial equipment, the industrial equipment to read and interpret the work files upon connection of the I/O interface to the I/O port.

Claims

1. An Internet of Things (loT) storage device to provide work files for industrial equipment comprising:

a physical storage device to store work files for a work site at which the industrial equipment is to be used;

a secure wireless communication module to establish a secure wireless communication channel with an IoT service, wherein a user having an account with the IoT service is to generate the work files and/or an update to the work files from a data processing system communicatively coupled to the IoT service, the IoT service to responsively transmit the work files and/or the update to the work files to the physical storage via the secure wireless communication module;

an input/output (I/O) interface to establish a communication channel with the industrial equipment when inserted in an I/O port of the industrial equipment, the industrial equipment to read and interpret the work files upon connection of the I/O interface to the I/O port.

2. The IoT storage device as in claim 1 wherein the physical storage device comprises a non-volatile memory.

3. The IoT storage device as in claim 2 wherein the non-volatile memory comprises a Flash memory.

4. The IoT storage device as in claim 1 wherein the I/O interface comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface and wherein the I/O port comprises a USB port.

5. The IoT storage device as in claim 1 wherein the user having an account with the IoT service is a surveyor and the work site comprises a construction site.

6. The IoT storage device as in claim 1 wherein the secure wireless communication module is to establish a local wireless channel with an IoT hub, which is to connect the IoT storage device to the IoT service.

7. The IoT storage device as in claim 6 wherein the local wireless channel comprises a WiFi channel or a BTLE channel.

14. The method as in claim 6 wherein the local wireless channel comprises a WiFi channel or a BTLE channel.

8. A method comprising:

communicatively coupling an IoT storage device having a physical storage to a communication port on industrial equipment;

modifying work files or creating new work files on a data processing system;

uploading the modified work files or new work files to an IoT service;

the IoT service wirelessly communicating the work files to the physical storage on the IoT storage device; and

the IoT storage device transferring the work files from the physical storage to the industrial equipment over the communication port.

9. The method as in claim 8 wherein the physical storage comprises a non-volatile memory.

10. The method as in claim 9 wherein the non-volatile memory comprises a Flash memory.

11. The method as in claim 8 wherein the communication port comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port to interface with a USB interface on the IoT storage device.

12. The method as in claim 8 wherein the user having an account with the IoT service is a surveyor and the work site comprises a construction site.

13. The method as in claim 8 wherein the IoT storage device is to establish a local wireless channel with an IoT hub, which is to connect the IoT storage device to the IoT service.

15. A system comprising:

an Internet of Things (loT) service; and

an IoT storage device to provide work files for industrial equipment comprising;

a physical storage device to store work files for a work site at which the industrial equipment is to be used;

a secure wireless communication module to establish a secure wireless communication channel with the IoT service, wherein a user having an account with the IoT service is to generate the work files and/or an update to the work files from a data processing system communicatively coupled to the IoT service, the IoT service to responsively transmit the work files and/or the update to the work files to the physical storage via the secure wireless communication module;

an input/output (I/O) interface to establish a communication channel with the industrial equipment when inserted in an I/O port of the industrial equipment, the industrial equipment to read and interpret the work files upon connection of the I/O interface to the I/O port.

16. The system as in claim 15 wherein the physical storage device comprises a non-volatile memory.

17. The system as in claim 16 wherein the non-volatile memory comprises a Flash memory.

18. The system as in claim 15 wherein the I/O interface comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface and wherein the I/O port comprises a USB port.

19. The system as in claim 15 wherein the user having an account with the IoT service is a surveyor and the work site comprises a construction site.

20. The system as in claim 15 further comprising:

an IoT hub to establish a local wireless channel with the secure wireless communication module to connect the IoT storage device to the IoT service.

21. The system as in claim 20 wherein the local wireless channel comprises a WiFi channel or a BTLE channel.