Remote Data Acquisition, Transmission And Analysis System Including Handheld Wireless Equipment
First Claim
1. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system, comprising:
- a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a respective remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network;
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines; and
the network operations center operable to maintain a database storing the operation data and to provide access to the database by the handheld wireless equipment.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system including handheld wireless equipment to obtain operational data and the status of remote machines is disclosed. A plurality of application controllers are interfaced with the remote machines from which operation data is acquired by the application controllers. The application controllers communicate with an application host via a local area network. The application host may communicate with a network operations center using a wide area network. The handheld wireless equipment may be used to obtain operational information for each remote machine from the network operations center.
151 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system, comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a respective remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network;
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines; and
the network operations center operable to maintain a database storing the operation data and to provide access to the database by the handheld wireless equipment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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15-16. -16. (canceled)
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21-31. -31. (canceled)
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32. A method for remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis, comprising:
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interfacing at least one application controller with remote machines from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
communicating between an application host and each application controller;
communicating between the application host and a network operations center using a respective wide area network;
communicating with the network operations center using handheld wireless equipment and a wide area network to allow the handheld wireless equipment to obtain an initial status of the remote machines from the network operations center and to request new or updated data for the remote machines; and
using the handheld wireless equipment to obtain current status of the remote machines prior to servicing one or more of the remote machines. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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40. (canceled)
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45. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a respective remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the respective application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network defined in part by electrical power lines;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface;
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the network operations center using a wide area network to obtain information concerning the status of the remote machines;
the handheld wireless equipment operable to control operation of the remote machines;
the network operations center operable to maintain a database storing the operation data and to provide access to the database by the handheld wireless equipment;
the handheld wireless equipment operable to obtain information from each remote machine;
the handheld wireless equipment operable to obtain an initial status of the remote machines from the network operations center; and
the handheld wireless equipment operable to obtain current status of the remote machines prior to servicing one or more of the remote machines. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47)
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48. A data acquisition, transmission and analysis system for use with vending machines comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a remote machine from which operation data is acquired by the application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with the application controllers via a local area network;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface; and
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the vending machines to obtain data and issue commands to the vending machine by communicating with the network operations center using the wide area network.
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49. A remote data acquisition, transmission and analysis system comprising:
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a plurality of application controllers, each application controller interfacing with a respective remote machine from which operations data is required by the respective application controller;
at least one application host operable to communicate with application controllers via a local area network defined in part by electrical power lines;
the application host communicating with a network operations center using a wide area network interface;
the network operations center operable to maintain a database storing the operation data and to provide access to the database; and
handheld wireless equipment operable to communicate with the operations center and the remote machines.
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Specification