WIRELESS TRACKING OF POWER TOOLS AND RELATED DEVICES
First Claim
1. A power distribution box comprising:
- a housing;
a power input supported by the housing and configured to receive power from an external power source;
a first power output electrically coupled to the power input, the first power output configured to provide power to an external device; and
a gateway device supported by the housing, the gateway device includinga wireless network processing unit including electronics and configured to communicate with at least one power tool device in a wireless network,a cellular processing unit including electronics and configured to communicate with an external network through a cellular network, anda translation controller including electronics and coupled to the wireless network processing unit, and the cellular processing unit, the translation controller configured to enable communication between the wireless network processing unit and the external network using the cellular processing unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power distribution box and method of communicating via the power distribution box are provided. A power input in the power distribution box is coupled to a power output to provide power to external devices. A gateway device supported by the housing of the power distribution box includes a wireless network module for communicating with power tools and a cellular module for communicating via a cellular network with a power tool monitoring system. The gateway may be removable from the power distribution box. A translation controller in the gateway enables communication between the wireless network module and the external network using the cellular module. The translation controller translates messages between the power tools and external network. The messages may include location data or operational data associated with the power tool.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A power distribution box comprising:
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a housing; a power input supported by the housing and configured to receive power from an external power source; a first power output electrically coupled to the power input, the first power output configured to provide power to an external device; and a gateway device supported by the housing, the gateway device including a wireless network processing unit including electronics and configured to communicate with at least one power tool device in a wireless network, a cellular processing unit including electronics and configured to communicate with an external network through a cellular network, and a translation controller including electronics and coupled to the wireless network processing unit, and the cellular processing unit, the translation controller configured to enable communication between the wireless network processing unit and the external network using the cellular processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for communicating by a power distribution box, the method comprising:
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receiving power from an external power source via a power input supported by a housing of the power distribution box; providing power to an external device via a first power output supported by the housing of the power distribution box, the first power output electrically coupled to the power input; communicating with at least one power tool device in a wireless network via a wireless network processing unit in a gateway device supported by the housing of the power distribution box; communicating with an external network through a cellular network via a cellular processing unit in the gateway device supported by the housing of the power distribution box; and translating data communications by a translation controller coupled to the wireless network processing unit and the cellular processing unit to enable communication between the wireless network processing unit and the external network using the cellular processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A power distribution box comprising:
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a housing; a power input supported by the housing and configured to receive power from an external power source; a first power output electrically coupled to the power input, the first power output configured to provide power to an external device; and a gateway device supported by the housing, the gateway device including; a wireless communication means for communicating with at least one power tool device, a communication means for communicating with an external network, and a translation controller including electronics and coupled to the wireless communication means for communicating with the at least one power tool device and the communication means for communicating with the external network, the translation controller configured to translate data communications to enable communication between the at least one power tool device and the external network. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification