Electronic message delivery system utilizable in the monitoring of remote equipment and method of same

• US 6,437,691 B1
• Filed: 05/24/2000
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vivint Incorporated (NRG Energy, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Heat-Timer Corporation
• Inventors: Shprecher, Daniel, Rey, Joseph, Sandelman, David
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US09/578,137
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/517, 340/524, 340/525, 340/539, 340/825.06, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 705/273, 705/274, 700/17
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/49 ensuring correct operation, e.g. by trial operation or configuration checks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/57 using telephone networks
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0784 Routing of error reports, e.g. with a specific transmission path or data flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/007 Details of data content structure of message packets; data protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/002 with telemetering systems telemetering in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring remote equipment such as HVAC equipment, are provided. A sensor is in communication with a piece of remote equipment. An interface unit, having a message generating mechanism, is capable of receiving signals from the sensors. A central computer server is in communication with the interface unit and is adapted to receive and preferably store messages generated by the interface unit from a variety of different data transports. When a sensor detects an exception condition in a piece of remote equipment, the sensor transmits a signal to the interface unit, and the interface unit generates an incoming exception message and forwards the message to the server. The server forwards at least one outgoing exception message to at least one predetermined user-defined communication device based on the incoming exception message. Multiple outgoing exception messages may be forwarded to multiple communication devices in accordance with a user-defined message profile, or a single outgoing exception message may be forwarded in response to receipt of multiple incoming exception messages. The message profile is remotely configurable by the user.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring remote equipment comprising the steps of:

a) determining a state of at least one parameter of at least one piece of the remote equipment;

b) communicating a message indicative of the state from the piece of remote equipment to a computer server as an incoming message;

c) enabling a user to remotely configure or modify a user-defined message profile containing outgoing message routing instructions, the user-defined message profile being storable on the computer server in a plurality of tables, the routing instructions being of a number of types of information and there being provided at least one table for each type of routing instruction,

d) determining whether an incoming message is an incoming exception message indicative of improper operation of the piece of remote equipment;

e) if it is determined in step d) that an incoming message is an incoming exception message, forwarding at least one outgoing exception message based on the incoming message to at least one user-defined communication device specifiable in the user-defined message profile,

wherein the user can remotely configure or modify the user-defined message profile by remotely accessing the computer server.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step b) further comprises the step of communicating a plurality of incoming messages to the computer server via one of a plurality of different communication media.

3. A method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of normalizing the incoming messages into a uniform format to create normalized messages, wherein the outgoing exception messages are generated based on the normalized messages.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter is at least one of an exception condition and a normal status condition.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein step (e) further comprises the step of determining whether an incoming message is a normal status message indicative of proper operation of the piece of remote equipment.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein step b) further comprises the step of communicating a plurality of incoming messages to the computer server via one of a plurality of different data transports.

7. A method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of incoming message tables on the computer server, each of the incoming message tables corresponding to a respective data transport;

placing incoming messages on the incoming message tables in accordance with the respective data transports via which the messages were received;

extracting and normalizing messages on the incoming message tables to thereby create normalized messages; and

placing the normalized messages in a normalized message table.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the normalized message table operates as an outgoing message queue.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the remote configuring or modifying of the message profile enabled in step c) is performed by the user via the Internet.

10. A method according to claim 5, wherein if the incoming message is determined in step d) to be a normal status message from the remote equipment indicating proper operation of the equipment, the method further comprises the step of storing the normal status message in a normal status table.

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

providing a main device identification table having information identifying all pieces of the remote equipment being monitored;

comparing the contents of the normal status table with the contents of the main device identification table to determine whether a normal status message was not communicated within a predetermined period of time for any pieces of the remote equipment being monitored; and

generating an outgoing exception message in accordance with the message profile for each piece of equipment identified in the immediately preceding step as not having sent a normal status message.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one remote communication devices specifiable by the message profile include at least one of a facsimile machine, an e-mail receiving device, a cellular telephone, a beeper, a pager, a PCS device, and a telephone.

13. A method according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of communication media of step b) includes at least one of a cellular telephone network, radio transmissions, telephone lines, and the Internet.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step b) further comprises the step of communicating in the incoming message an identification code of the piece of remote equipment to which the incoming message pertains.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein said step e) further comprises the step of forwarding the identification code in the outgoing exception message to the at least one user-defined communication device in accordance with the user-defined message profile.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein step c) further comprises the step of enabling selection of different user-defined communication devices to receive outgoing exception messages at different time periods in accordance with a device message delivery table of the message profile, the message profile being definable to have the exception messages forwarded to different specified remote communication devices at different times.

17. A system for monitoring remote equipment, comprising:

a sensor in local communication with a piece of remote equipment, said sensor detecting a state of at least one parameter of the piece of remote equipment;

an interface unit, locally connected to said sensor, said interface unit having a message generating mechanism; and

a computer server in remote communication with said interface unit, said server adapted to receive messages generated by said interface unit, said computer server having a user interface, a user being capable of remotely accessing said computer server via said user interface to remotely configure a user-defined message profile containing outgoing message routing instructions, said computer server including a plurality of tables, said routing instructions being of a number of types of information, said server further including at least one table for each type of said routing instructions,

wherein when said sensor detects an exception condition in the piece of remote equipment, said interface unit generates an incoming exception message indicative of the exception condition and forwards said message to said server,

and wherein said server forwards at least one outgoing exception message to at least one predetermined user-defined remote communication device based on said incoming exception message as specified in said user-defined message profile.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein said message generating mechanism of the interface unit forwards said incoming exception messages to said computer server via at least one of a plurality of communication media, said media comprising at least one of a cellular telephone network, radio transmissions, telephone lines, and the Internet.

19. A system according to claim 17, said system monitoring a plurality of pieces of equipment, each piece having an identification code, said server further comprising:

a first table on which equipment identification codes of all monitored equipment are stored;

at least one second table in which communication device identification codes of all of said remote user-defined communication devices are stored, said communication device identification codes being configured in a plurality of said user-defined message profiles.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein said at least one second table comprises a plurality of second tables, each of said second tables being provided for a different type of communication device.

21. A system according to claim 19, wherein said user interface is in communication with said second memory so that users can access said tables which make up said user-defined message profile to thereby create or edit said user-defined message profiles remotely from said server.

22. A system according to claim 21, wherein said user interface enables a user to configure a user-defined message profile to select at least one type of communication device to which outgoing exception messages are to be forwarded, select specific user-defined communication devices of the types selected, and determine the content of said outgoing exception messages forwarded by said server to said user-defined communication devices.

23. A system according to claim 17, wherein said remote communication devices include at least one of a facsimile machine, an e-mail receiving device, a cellular telephone, a beeper, a pager, a PCS device, and a land line telephone.

24. A system according to claim 19, wherein said interface unit periodically generates a normal status message if said sensor to which said interface unit is connected detects a normal status condition indicative of proper operation of said respective piece of equipment to which said sensor is connected, said normal status message including an equipment identification code of said respective piece of equipment.

25. A system according to claim 24, said server further comprising:

a third table for storing said normal status messages;

a comparator processor in communication with said first and third tables adapted to identify which of said pieces of monitored remote equipment having an identification code stored in said first table did not communicate a normal status message stored in said third table within a predetermined period of time; and

a server message generator in communication with said comparator processor adapted to generate an outgoing exception message for each piece of equipment identified by said comparator processor, said outgoing exception message being forwarded by said server to at least one of said user-defined communication devices specified by at least one of said user-defined message profiles.

26. A system according to claim 25, said computer server further comprising a fourth table upon which outgoing exception messages are stored.

27. A system according to claim 17, wherein said message generating mechanism of said interface unit further comprises:

a central processing unit connected to said sensor;

a multiplexer connected to said central processing unit; and

a transport radio module connected to said multiplexer, said transport radio module adapted to communicate with a first data transport.

28. A system according to claim 27, further comprising a connector interposed between said multiplexer and said transport radio module, said transport radio module being removably connected to said multiplexer via said connector.

29. A system according to claim 28, wherein said transport radio module is replaceable with a different transport radio module adapted to communicate with a second data transport.