Apparatus for monitoring the status of multiple laundry appliances

• US 7,469,288 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Issued: 12/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mac-Gray Services Incorporated (CSC Serviceworks, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mac-Gray Services Incorporated (CSC Serviceworks, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tuttle, Robert John
• Primary Examiner(s): Won; Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/953,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20050108326A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,565 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/224, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 95/00 Laundry systems or arrangements of apparatus or machines; Mobile laundries D06F31/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A system for monitoring the status of laundry appliances in a laundry taps into the busy/idle signal of the appliances to obtain status information. By tapping into the busy/idle signal through connections to the individual appliances, the monitoring system can generate a busy/idle status signal. These signals are communicated to laundry server through a local area network or internet link to allow compilation and processing of the data. Local or remote users gain access to the laundry server data through the LAN or Internet link.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the operating status of a group of laundry appliances in a laundry room comprising:

multiple laundry appliances, each having a status signal generating mechanism within, said signal indicating the status of the appliance;

a gang monitor connected to each of the laundry appliances, said gang monitor constructed to receive and process the appliance status signals and generate a busy/idle status signal representative thereof;

a server for communicating with said gang monitor to receive the busy/idle status signal therefrom, said server constructed to process, compile and store a status record for each appliance;

a user interface to provide access by a user to the server;

a first communication link connecting the server and said gang monitor to allow the gang monitor to send status signals to said server; and

a second communication link connecting the user interface to the server to allow access by said user to the server, wherein the server;

calculates a preference factor (PF) for each appliance wherein said preference factor is defined as the likelihood that, if no appliances are in use, then the particular appliance will be the next one used;

calculates cumulative idle probability (CIP) for each appliance wherein said CIP is defined as 1 for an appliance that is first started and CIP times (I-PF) for any remaining idle appliances;

sets a minimum idle probability (MIP);

compares the CIP of each appliance to the MIP; and

generates an alert with respect to the appliance when CIP<

MIP.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second communication links are connected to the server through a local area network.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said first and second communication links are connected to the server through the Internet.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the second communication link is connected to the server through a local area network and the Internet.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said user interface is a personal computing device.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the appliance status signals are communicated to the gang monitor by means of a wireless transmission.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the gang monitor includes a microprocessor programmed to manage a table of the status of each appliance in which the current status of each appliance is compiled.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the busy/idle status signal contains a compilation of current status information for the group of laundry appliances.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the busy/idle status signal contains information relating to appliance identification, date, and time.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the server communicates with multiple gang monitors in a facility having multiple laundry rooms and the busy/idle status signal further includes gang monitor identification.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the server communicates with multiple gang monitors in a facility having multiple laundry rooms and further comprises a memory, said memory adapted to store compiled information relating to the operation of each appliance in said multiple laundry rooms, information relating to the operation of each gang monitor, and information relating to the operation of the facility.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein the functions of the server are controlled by a computer processor that operates according to computer readable algorithms contained therein and said computer readable algorithms causes said processor to receive, analyze, compile, and store information relating to the operation of the laundry room.

13. A system according to claim 12, further comprising a memory adapted to store compiled information relating to the operation of each appliance.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the memory further stores compiled information relating to the operation of the gang monitor.

15. A system according to claim 12 wherein said computer readable algorithm causes said processor to compile records relating to the operation of each appliance in the laundry room and information relating to the operation of the gang monitor.

16. A system according to claim 12 wherein said computer readable algorithm causes said processor to compile a schedule of the current status of the appliances for access by a user.

17. A system according to claim 1 wherein said gang controller includes a programmable microprocessor wherein said microprocessor is programmed to generate a communications check signal upon the expiration of a predetermined period to confirm that the communication links are operable.

18. A system according to claim 1 wherein the user interface is programmed to communicate inquiries to the server requesting notification relative to available appliances, or the status of specific appliances and the server is programmed to respond with notifications to the user containing such information.

19. A system according to claim 18 wherein the notifications are sent by email.

20. A system according to claim 12 wherein said computer readable algorithm causes said processor to record the actual busy time for an appliance, which is the time from the last change from idle to busy status, to compare said actual busy time to a predetermined maximum allowed busy time, and to generate an alert with respect to the appliance when said actual busy time exceeds said maximum allowed busy time.

21. A system according to claim 12 wherein said computer readable algorithm causes said processor to record the actual idle time for an appliance, which is the time from the last change from busy to idle status, to compare said actual idle time to a predetermined minimum allowed idle time, and to perform further monitoring steps with respect to said appliance when said actual idle time exceeds said minimum allowed idle time.

22. A system according to claim 21 wherein said computer readable algorithm causes said processor to calculate the average idle time for the appliances is the laundry room to compare said actual idle time to said average idle time, and to generate an alert with respect to the appliance when said actual idle time exceeds a predetermined multiple of average idle time.

23. A system according to claim 1, wherein the preference factor for a particular appliance is weighted based on the convenience to a user of said particular appliance within the laundry room.

24. A system according to claim 1, further teaches wherein the preference factor for a particular appliance is weighted based on the history of use for said particular appliance.