Real time data collection system

• US 5,361,200 A
• Filed: 09/02/1992
• Issued: 11/01/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Parker Marketing Research Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Parker Marketing Research Incorporated
• Inventors: Mitchell, Lawrence H., Forde, Thomas M. Jr., Weybright, Kenneth N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Envall, Jr., Roy N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BODENDORF, ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US07/939,450
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 364/419, 395/800, 455/2, 340/825.54, 434/350, 434/323, 434/336
• US Class Current: 705/7.31
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/063 with hand-placed probe or plug

Abstract

A data collection system is disclosed for use with a panel of human respondents who answer a series of questions, and their answers are analyzed and displayed on video monitors in real time. The respondents use "smart" keypads to enter their answers using a numerical value from zero (0) through ten (10), inclusive. The numerical values from up to twenty (20) of the keypads are communicated to an intelligent junction box, at which time the numerical values are temporarily stored in memory, retaining the identity of the keypad from which each answer was derived. Up to ten (10) intelligent junction boxes can be connected to a central computer, which is a standard DOS-based personal computer, thereby allowing up to two hundred (200) keypads to be in use in a single data collection system. The numerical values from the junction boxes are communicated to the central computer and analyzed, using statistical techniques. The results of each question are displayed on a video monitor before the next question is asked of the panel. Each smart keypad can be programmed by the central computer to have any one of the appropriate keypad addresses without regard to the keypad'"'"'s physical or wiring positions within the data collection system. The smart keypads also contain a liquid crystal display which gives the respondents information helpful to answering the questions. The smart keypads can also be used to give numeric results up to five (5) digits in length, in the range from zero (0) to 99,999, inclusive.

Claims

1. A data collection system, comprising:

(a) a central computing apparatus, said central computing apparatus including a first processing circuit, and including a first communications circuit for communicating data to and from said central computing apparatus;

(b) at least one intelligent junction box, each of said at least one intelligent junction box including;

(i) first physical communications wiring between said at least one intelligent junction box and said central computing apparatus, and a second communications circuit which communicates with the first communications circuit of said central computing apparatus over said first physical communications wiring;

(ii) a second processing circuit that selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of another intelligent junction box within said data collection system;

(c) a plurality of smart keypads, each of said plurality of smart keypads including;

(i) second physical communications wiring between each of said smart keypads and said at least one intelligent junction box, and a third communications circuit which communicates with the second communications circuit of one of said at least one intelligent junction box over said second physical communications wiring;

(ii) an alpha-numeric display;

(iii) a plurality of switches having numeric values and an additional switch used to enter data;

(iv) a third processing circuit that selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of any other smart keypad within said data collection system;

(d) said first, second, and third processing circuits configured to control, while setting up the data collection system, said plurality of smart keypads and at least one intelligent junction box by individually programming the identifying address of each smart keypad in a sequence determined by a systems operator, said programming being accomplished by interaction between said central computing apparatus and each smart keypad, and any of the plurality of smart keypads in the data collection system being programmable to contain any one of said identifying addresses available to smart keypads, without regard to the physical location of any individual smart keypad or to the particular second physical communications wiring attached to any individual smart keypad;

(e) said first, second, and third processing circuits configured to control, while conducting a data collection session, said plurality of smart keypads and at least one intelligent junction box, comprising;

(i) said alpha-numeric display configured to display, in real time, the same question to human respondents located at said plurality of smart keypads and for entering an appropriate answer into said plurality of smart keypads in real time, by use of said plurality of switches;

(ii) said third communications circuit configured to transmit, in real time, information corresponding to said appropriate answer entered at each of said plurality of smart keypads to their associated intelligent junction boxes; and

(iii) said second communications circuit configured to transmit, in real time, said information to said central computing apparatus.

2. The data collection system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

(a) a data storage device and a video display at said central computing apparatus;

(b) said first, second, and third processing circuits configured to control, while conducting a data collection session, said plurality of smart keypads and at least one intelligent junction box, in real time, and to store, in real time, said information within said data storage device, and said video display configured to display, in real time, the status of the information.

3. The data collection system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of switches and the additional switch used to enter information at each of said plurality of smart keypads comprises means for the human respondents to provide a numeric answer having a value in the range from zero to 99,999, inclusive.

4. A data collection system, comprising:

(a) a central computing apparatus, including;

(i) a local keyboard;

(ii) a local video display;

(iii) a first processing circuit which controls the transfer of data within said central computing apparatus;

(iv) a first communications circuit that receives data from said local keyboard, said first processing circuit configured to perform one or more tasks depending on the contents of that data;

(v) a first memory device which stores and retrieves data;

(vi) a second communications circuit that transmits data to said local video display;

(vii) a third communications circuit for communicating data to and from said central computing apparatus;

(b) at least one intelligent junction box, each of said at least one intelligent junction box comprising;

(i) first physical communications wiring between said intelligent junction box and said central computing apparatus, and a fourth communications circuit that communicates with the third communications circuit of said central computing apparatus over said first physical communications wiring;

(ii) a second processing circuit which controls the transfer of data within said intelligent junction box, and which selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of any other intelligent junction box within said data collection system;

(iii) a second memory device which stores and retrieves data;

(c) a plurality of smart keypads, each of said plurality of smart keypads comprising;

(i) second physical communications wiring between each of said smart keypads and said at least one intelligent junction box, and a fifth communications circuit that communicates with the fourth communications circuit of one of said at least one intelligent junction box over said second physical communications wiring;

(ii) an alpha-numeric display for displaying data received from said at least one intelligent junction box and from said central computing apparatus;

(iii) a third processing circuit which controls the transfer of data within said smart keypad, and selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of any other smart keypad within said data collection system;

(iv) a third memory device which stores and retrieves data;

(v) a plurality of switches having numeric values and an additional switch used to enter information;

(d) said first, second, and third processing circuits configured to control, said plurality of smart keypads and said at least one intelligent junction box, comprising;

(i) said first, second, and third processing circuits further configured to individually program, while setting up the data collection system, the identifying address of each of said plurality of smart keypads in a sequence determined by a systems operator via interaction between said central computing apparatus and each smart keypad, and any of the smart keypads in the data collection system being programmable to contain any one of said identifying addresses available to smart keypads, without regard to the physical location of any individual smart keypad or the particular second physical communications wiring attached to said any individual smart keypad;

(ii) said second processing circuit further configured to store, in said second memory device of each of said at least one intelligent junction box the identifying address of each smart keypad that is in communication with that particular intelligent junction box, and configured to reserve space within said second memory device of each intelligent junction box for information transmitted by each smart keypad to that particular intelligent junction box;

(iii) said alpha-numeric display configured to display, in real time, the same question to human respondents located at said plurality of smart keypads and for entering an appropriate answer into one of said plurality of smart keypads, in real time, by use of said plurality of switches, and said third processing circuit further configured to store said answers in the third memory device of each of said plurality of smart keypads that are actuated by a human respondent;

(iv) said third communications circuit configured to transmit, in real time, information corresponding to the stored answer in said third memory device of each of said plurality of smart keypads via said second communications wiring to each of said intelligent junction boxes, and said second processing circuit configured to store said information in said second memory device, within said space that had been reserved for that information, of each intelligent junction box; and

(v) said second communications circuit configured to transmit, in real time, said information to said central computing apparatus, said first processing circuit further configured to store said information in said first memory device, and said local video display configured to display, in real time, the status of the information.

5. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, wherein the alpha-numeric display at each of said plurality of smart keypads comprises means for presenting messages useful to the systems operator during the setting up of the data collection system.

6. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, wherein the alpha-numeric numeric display at each of said plurality of smart keypads is configured to present messages useful to the human respondents.

7. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, wherein the plurality of switches of each of said plurality of smart keypads comprise means for the human respondents to provide a numeric answer having a value in the range from zero to ten, inclusive.

8. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, wherein the plurality of switches and the additional switch used to enter information of each of said plurality of smart keypads comprise means for the human respondents to provide a numeric answer having a value in the range from zero to 99,999, inclusive.

9. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

(a) a remote video display;

(b) a sixth communications circuit for communicating information to said remote video display; and

(c) said first processing circuit further configured to statistically analyze, in real time, information corresponding to the stored answers in said second memory device of each of said at least one intelligent junction box, and said remote video display configured to display that information, in real time.

10. The data collection system as recited in claim 4, wherein ten of said at least one intelligent junction boxes are connected to said central computing apparatus, and twenty of said plurality of keypads are connected to each of said at least one intelligent junction boxes.

11. A method for collecting data from human respondents, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a data collection system including;

(i) a central computing apparatus, said central computing apparatus comprising;

(A) a data storage device;

(B) a video display;

(C) a first communications circuit for communicating data to and from said central computing apparatus;

(ii) at least one intelligent junction box, each of said at least one intelligent junction box including;

(A) first physical communications wiring between said at least one intelligent junction box and said central computing apparatus, and a second communications circuit which communicates with the first communications circuit of said central computing apparatus over said first physical communications wiring;

(B) a first processing circuit that selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of any other intelligent junction box within said data collection system;

(iii) a plurality of smart keypads, each of said plurality of smart keypads including;

(A) second physical communications wiring between each of said smart keypads and said at least one intelligent junction box, and a third communications circuit which communicates with the second communications circuit of one of said at least one intelligent junction box over said second physical communications wiring;

(B) an alpha-numeric display;

(C) a plurality of switches having numeric values and an additional switch used to enter data;

(D) a second processing circuit that selects an identifying address which is distinct as compared to the identifying address of any other smart keypad within said data collection system;

(b) setting up a data collection system by individually programming the identifying address of each smart keypad in a sequence determined by a systems operator, said programming being accomplished by interaction between said central computing apparatus and each smart keypad, and any of the smart keypads in the data collection system being programmable to contain any one of said identifying addresses available to smart keypads, without regard to the physical location of any individual smart keypad or to the particular second physical communications wiring attached to any individual smart keypad;

(c) conducting a data collection session by;

(i) displaying, in real time, the same question to human respondents located at said plurality of smart keypads and accepting an appropriate answer from the human respondent at one of said plurality of smart keypads, by use of said plurality of switches;

(ii) transmitting, in real time, information corresponding to said answer entered at each of said plurality of smart keypads to their associated intelligent junction boxes; and

(iii) further transmitting, in real time, information corresponding to said answer entered at each of said plurality of smart keypads to said central computing apparatus, storing, in real time, said information within said data storage device, and displaying, in real time, the status of the information on said video display.

12. A method for collecting data from human respondents as recited in claim 11, including the step of accepting numeric answers having values in the range from zero to 99,999, inclusive, by actuation of the plurality of switches and the additional switch used to enter data of each of said plurality of smart keypads.