Remote lifecycle monitoring of electronic boards/software routines

• US 6,233,536 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Sanborn, Stephen Duane, Zale, Lawrence Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US09/201,379
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 702/189, 702/28, 702/29, 702/30, 702/122, 283/55, 705/8, 705/28, 705/57, 705/58, 705/59, 717/11
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A remote inventory system employs unique serial numbers ‘burned’ into each board/software routine desired to be tracked. These boards/routines find their way into machines at various remote sites each connected to a base by a remote link. A monitor program is run by a microprocessor resident at each remote site. It periodically collects the serial numbers and other information regarding the boards/routines, and transmits the information to a base running a base program. The base program interacting with a database, determines the hardware/software configuration, performance history, tracks the lifecycle of a board/routine. It may also be possible to determine remote sites running unauthorized ‘protected property’.

Claims

1. An remote inventory system for monitoring electronic boards/software routines at remote sites comprising:

a) at least one remote site, each remote site having;

i. a machine with boards/routines desired to be inventoried;

ii. a device for storing a predefined unique machine-readable string of digital characters representing a unique serial number, embedded in each board/routine determined to be tracked at each remote site;

iii. a microprocessor running a monitor program functioning to read the serial number and transmit them to other sites;

b) a base having;

i. storage device having a prestored database having information indicating the protected property within each of the boards/routines, and the sites authorized to use protected property;

ii. a processor running a base program operating to read the database from storage device and the serial numbers at each of the remote sites and indicate those sites which are using protected property that they are not authorized to use;

c) a communications link connecting the remote site and base allowing information to be passed between the base and remote sites.

2. The remote inventory system of claim 1 wherein:

a) microprocessor and the monitor program track performance of each board/routine over time and report this information to the base microprocessor; and

b) base microprocessor creates a report of length of use of each board/routine and performance history.

3. The remote inventory system of claim 2 wherein:

base processor and base program have functionality to examine past performance history and compares the error rate to a predefined threshold to identify boards/routines to be replaced.

4. The remote inventory system of claim 1 further comprising:

a) a storage device having a prestored database of protected property on each of the boards/routines, the corresponding serial numbers and sites authorized to use each board; and

b) the base program running in cooperation with the base microprocessor interacts with the database in storage device to identify boards/routines at a remote site that are not authorized for use by that remote site and for indicating such on a monitor.

5. The remote inventory system of claim 1 wherein:

the base microprocessor stores serial numbers indicating boards/routines located at each site over time, and

creates a report of the site of selected boards/routines over time.

6. The remote inventory system of claim 1 wherein:

a) data storage device includes serial numbers of new boards/routines sold as replacement parts to vendors, the location, date of the sale, the vendor'"'"'s name, are stored in the database; and

b) the base microprocessor creates reports of boards/routines installed by vendors, their location and dates of installation.