Modular microprocessor-based appliance system
First Claim
1. A networked appliance system comprising:
- a programmable microprocessor having (i) at least one input mechanism, (ii) a memory, and (iii) a display;
at least one appliance having at least one measuring device operable for monitoring a parameter associated with operation of the appliance and for producing digitally encoded signals representative of the monitored parameter;
a communications device connectable in signal communication with both the programmable microprocessor and the at least one measuring device;
a server remotely located from said programmable microprocessor, said at least one measuring device and the communications device; and
program instructions stored in said memory and executable by the programmable microprocessor, when executed the program instructions cause the programmable microprocessor to (i) cause information stored in the memory to be presented to a user on the display, (ii) collect user data from a user interaction with the at least one input mechanism in response to the display and store the user data in the memory, (iii) collect measurement data from the at least one measuring device and store the measurement data in the memory, and (iv) transmit the user data, the measurement data and a particular one of a plurality of script identification codes to said server via a communications network, wherein the script identification codes identify which among a plurality of respective versions of the program instructions was most recently executed by the programmable microprocessor,wherein said server embodies software in a storage medium, when executed by the server the software causes the server to (i) processes said user data and the measurement data based on the particular script identification code as received to generate one or more first reports from said user data and the measurement data, and (ii) cause a given version of the program instructions with a respective one of the script identification codes and the information to be transmitted to the programmable microprocessor via the communications network, andwherein execution of the program instructions further cause said programmable microprocessor to store the information as received from the server in the memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is described that enables a health care provider to monitor and manage a health condition of a patient. The system includes a health care provider apparatus operated by a health care provider and a remotely programmable patient apparatus that is operated by a patient. The health care provider develops a script program using the health care provider apparatus and then sends the script program to a remotely programmable patient apparatus through a communication network such as the World Wide Web. The script program is a computer-executable patient protocol that provides information to the patient about the patient'"'"'s health condition and that interactively monitors the patient health condition by asking the patient questions and by receiving answers to those questions. The answers to these health related questions are then forwarded as patient data from the remotely programmable patient apparatus to the health care provider apparatus through the communication network. The patient data may also include information supplied by a physiological monitoring device such as a blood glucose monitor that is connected to the remotely programmable patient apparatus. When the patient data arrives at the health care provider apparatus, the patient data is processed for further management of the patient'"'"'s health condition by the health care provider, such as forwarding another script program to the remotely programmable patient apparatus.
465 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A networked appliance system comprising:
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a programmable microprocessor having (i) at least one input mechanism, (ii) a memory, and (iii) a display; at least one appliance having at least one measuring device operable for monitoring a parameter associated with operation of the appliance and for producing digitally encoded signals representative of the monitored parameter; a communications device connectable in signal communication with both the programmable microprocessor and the at least one measuring device; a server remotely located from said programmable microprocessor, said at least one measuring device and the communications device; and program instructions stored in said memory and executable by the programmable microprocessor, when executed the program instructions cause the programmable microprocessor to (i) cause information stored in the memory to be presented to a user on the display, (ii) collect user data from a user interaction with the at least one input mechanism in response to the display and store the user data in the memory, (iii) collect measurement data from the at least one measuring device and store the measurement data in the memory, and (iv) transmit the user data, the measurement data and a particular one of a plurality of script identification codes to said server via a communications network, wherein the script identification codes identify which among a plurality of respective versions of the program instructions was most recently executed by the programmable microprocessor, wherein said server embodies software in a storage medium, when executed by the server the software causes the server to (i) processes said user data and the measurement data based on the particular script identification code as received to generate one or more first reports from said user data and the measurement data, and (ii) cause a given version of the program instructions with a respective one of the script identification codes and the information to be transmitted to the programmable microprocessor via the communications network, and wherein execution of the program instructions further cause said programmable microprocessor to store the information as received from the server in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23)
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12. A method of using a modular microprocessor networked appliance system comprising:
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(a) at a site employing at least one appliance, (i) using stored program instructions to generate appliance related information on at least one display; (ii) collecting appliance related data using a programmable microprocessor device; (b) connecting at least one remotely located computing facility including at least one server for communication with a communications device at the site via a first communications network; and (c) providing the appliance related data from the server to at least one workstation, the workstation being remotely located from and in signal communication with the server via a second communications network, wherein (i) hardware and software of the server are configured to receive and store the appliance related data from the site and (ii) the appliance related data as stored in the server can be viewed or retrieved by an authorized user from the workstation; (d) processing and generating reports from said appliance related data based on a particular one among a plurality of script identification codes, wherein the script identification codes identify which among a plurality of respective versions of the program instructions was most recently executed by the programmable microprocessor device; and (e) including the particular script identification code in said program instructions received by the programmable microprocessor device from said server via the first communications network, wherein (i) said script identification code is transmitted back to said server with said appliance related data and (ii) said server uses the particular script identification code as transmitted back to associate said appliance related data with said program instructions that caused the programmable microprocessor device to collect the appliance related data. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for remotely monitoring an appliance, the system comprising:
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a) a server configured to receive transmitted data and a particular one of a plurality of script identification codes via a first communications network and to (i) process said transmitted data based on the particular script identification code as received, and (ii) generate reports from said transmitted data; b) a workstation remotely located from and in signal communication with the server via a second communications network, the workstation for entering in the server a set of queries to be answered by a user of the appliance; and c) a remotely programmable apparatus for interacting with the appliance, the remotely programmable apparatus (i) having a programmable microprocessor and (ii) being in communication with the server via the first communications network; wherein the server comprises; i) a script generator for generating a particular one of a plurality of script programs embedding the set of queries, the particular script program being executable by the remotely programmable apparatus (a) to communicate the set of queries to the user of the appliance, (b) to receive responses to the set of queries, and (c) to transmit the responses and the particular script identification code from the remotely programmable apparatus to the server, wherein said particular script program includes the particular script identification code received from said server and said script identification codes identify which among a plurality of respective versions of the script programs was most recently executed by the remotely programmable apparatus; and ii) a database connected to the script generator, the database for storing the script programs and the responses to the set of queries; and wherein the remotely programmable apparatus comprises; i) a communication device for receiving the particular script program from the server and for transmitting the responses to the server; ii) a user interface for communicating the set of queries to the user and for receiving the responses to the set of queries from the user; iii) a memory for storing (i) the particular script program, (ii) the responses to the set of queries, and (iii) said particular script identification code; and iv) a processor connected to the communication device, the user interface, and the memory for executing the particular script program to (i) communicate the set of queries to the user, to receive the responses to the set of queries, (ii) transmit the responses to the server and (iii) causes said server to associate said transmitted data with said particular script program that caused the responses to be received. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification