System for remote monitoring and control of an instrument

• US 7,711,523 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PerkinElmer LAS, Inc. (Perkinelmer Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: PerkinElmer LAS, Inc. (Perkinelmer Incorporated)
• Inventors: Linley, Richard, Olbert, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wachsman; Hal D
• Application Number:
  US11/932,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 702/183, 702/186
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The invention relates to a web-based instrument and data management system and method including software executing on an instrument controller computer system that receives a web file from a web browsing software executing on a remote computer. The web-based interface also extracts a user identifier and a requested action, determines with the user is authorized for the requested action and performs the action is the user is authorized. If not the web-based interface generates and transmits a web file indicating that the user is not authorized for the requested action.

Claims

1. A web-based instrument and data management system comprising:

an instrument controller computer system;

at least one analytical instrument connected to said instrument controller computer system;

a permissions database accessible by said instrument controller computer system;

at least one remote computer in communication with said instrument controller computer system via a network connection, said at least one remote computer having web browser software executing thereon; and

web-based instrument interface software executing on said instrument controller computer system, said web-based instrument interface software receiving a web file from the web browsing software executing on said at least one remote computer, extracting a user identifier and a requested action from the web file, determining whether a user of said at least one remote computer is authorized for the requested action based upon the user identifier, the requested action and data stored on said permissions data-base, performing the requested action if the user is authorized, and if the user is not authorized generating and transmitting to the web browsing software executing on said at least one remote computer a web file indicating that the user is not authorized for the requested action.

2. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein said instrument controller computer system comprises a single instrument controller computer.

3. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein said instrument controller computer system comprises an instrument controller computer and a web server computer.

4. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein said at least one remote computer is in communication with said instrument controller computer system via the Internet.

5. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein the web files comprise HTML files.

6. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein the requested action comprises an instrument command.

7. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein the requested action comprises a request for instrument status.

8. The web-based instrument and data management system of claim 1 wherein the requested action comprises a request for data.

9. A method of web-based instrument and data management comprising the steps of:

providing an instrument controller computer system having at least one analytical instrument connected thereto;

providing a permissions database accessible by the instrument controller computer system;

providing at least one remote computer in communication with the instrument controller computer system via a network connection, the at least one remote computer having web browser software executing thereon;

receiving a web file from the web browsing software executing on the at least one remote computer;

extracting a user identifier and a requested action from the web file;

determining whether a user of the at least one remote computer is authorized for the requested action based upon the user identifier, the requested action and data stored on the permissions database;

performing the requested action if the user is authorized; and

generating and transmitting to the web browsing software executing on the at least one remote computer, if the user is not authorized, a web file indicating that the user is not authorized for the requested action.

10. The method of web-based instrument and data management of claim 9 wherein the at least one remote computer is in communication with the instrument controller computer system via the Internet.

11. The method of web-based instrument and data management of claim 9 wherein the web files comprise HTML files.

12. The method of web-based instrument and data management of claim 9 wherein the requested action comprises an instrument command.

13. The method of web-based instrument and data management of claim 9 wherein the requested action comprises a request for instrument status.

14. The method of web-based instrument and data management of claim 9 wherein the requested action comprises a request for data.