Versatile RF data capture system

• US 5,987,499 A
• Filed: 10/22/1996
• Issued: 11/16/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intermec Technologies Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Norand Corporation (Baker Hughes Company)
• Inventors: Zumbach, Lyle L., Morris, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US08/735,351
• Time in Patent Office: 1,120 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.33, 395/200.47, 395/200.48, 395/200.49, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/201
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0032 Without explicit signalling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1685 the supervisory signal being transmitted in response to a specific request, e.g. to a polling signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

A data capture system is disclosed as comprising a plurality of client data collection terminals, and a server station. Each terminal including a mechanism for collecting data, a dynamic addressable memory and a first controller operating on data formatted in a first style. The server station comprises mass memory, which is larger than the dynamic addressable memory of a terminal for storing data to be used by the data collection terminals, an addresser responsive to a memory altering request for addressing the mass memory and a second controller operating on data formatted in a second style different from said first style. The data stored in the dynamic addressable memory is formatted in the second style. A communication system interconnects the server station and each of the plurality of client data collection terminals. The first controller of each client data collection terminal is responsive to a need for further data to generate a memory altering request and for actuating the communication system to transmit the generated request to the server station. The request is generated to identify its terminal and the particular needed data. The second controller of the server station is responsive to the transmitted request to address and retrieve the needed data from the mass memory before actuating the communication system to transmit the needed data back to the requesting terminal as identified by the request.

Claims

1. A data collecting system for collecting data from at least one remote site and transmitting the collected data to a main information center, and having information distributed throughout said data collecting system, the information being partitioned into a first information portion and a second information portion, said data collection system comprising:

at least one terminal for collecting data at the remote site, said terminal comprising a data collection mechanism, a first memory for storing the first information portion, a first controller responsive to the need for information by said terminal to generate an information call identifying the needed information, said first controller further responsive to the information call by searching said first memory for the presence or absence of that needed information, said first controller responsive to the presence of that needed information by accessing said first memory and supplying that accessed, needed information for use by said terminal;

a server for said terminal;

a communication system communicatively interconnecting said terminal and said server, said first controller responsive to the absence of that needed information within said first memory by transmitting the information call via said communication system from said terminal to said server; and

said server disposed at the main information center and comprising a second memory for storing the second information portion, and a second controller responsive to the information call transmitted via said communications system from said terminal by accessing the requested information from said second controller and transmitting the accessed information via said communication system from said server to said terminal.

2. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information comprises a plurality of application programs, the first information portion comprises a root module and the second information portion comprises at least one overlay module, said terminal comprising a processor for executing a selected one application program, and said first controller responsive during the executing of the root module by said processor to generate the information call requesting a particular overlay module.

3. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second information portion also comprises application specific data and a request encoded within each of said application programs for the corresponding application specific data, said first controller responsive during the execution of one of said pluralities of the application programs by said processor to generate the information call for the corresponding application specific data.

5. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communication system is wireless.

6. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said terminal comprises a first radio and said server comprises a second radio, said communication system comprising said first and second radios.

7. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first controller is responsive to the absence of the requested information within said first memory by actuating said first radio.

8. The data collecting system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said second controller is responsive to the receipt of the information call to actuate said second radio.

4. The data collecting system as claimed 2, wherein said terminal comprises a keyboard for user entry of a request for a root module for a new application program of said plurality thereof, said first controller responsive to the root module request by generating in turn the information call thereof.

9. A data collection system comprising:

a portable terminal having processing circuit and a memory that both selectively stores at least portions of a plurality of application programs, and stores a listing of the plurality of application programs;

a computer network comprising a first computing device and a second computing device, each computing device stores at least portions of the plurality of application programs;

the portable terminal displays the listing of application programs for selection;

the portable terminal attempts to locate each portion of a selected one of the plurality of application programs as needed from the memory, but, if the portable terminal fails to locate the at least portions of the plurality of application programs in the memory, the portable terminal generates information calls and communicates the information calls to the first computing device; and

the first computing device attempts to service the information calls, but, if the attempt fails, the first computing device forwards the information calls to the second computing device for servicing.

10. The data collection system of claim 9 wherein the computer network is located at a remote location from the portable terminal.

11. The data collection system of claim 9 wherein the first and the second computing devices comprise server devices.

12. The data collection system of claim 11 wherein the information calls comprise SQL statements.

13. The data collection system of claim 10 wherein the first and the second computing devices comprise server devices.

14. The data collection system of claim 13 wherein the information calls comprise SQL statements.

15. A data collection system comprising:

a main information center with a plurality of servers, each server storing a plurality of application programs and associated application-specific data;

a plurality of remote data collection centers, each data collection center comprising one or more terminals;

each of the one or more terminal selectively requests the application programs from the main information center; and

the main information center delivers requested ones of the application programs in executable portions.

16. The data collection system of claim 15 wherein the terminal establishes a communication link with the main information center to deliver the requests, and the requests are selectively forwarded to at least one of the plurality of servers for servicing.

17. The data collection system of claim 16 wherein the requests comprise SQL statements.