Control and observation of physical devices, equipment and processes by multiple users over computer networks

• US 6,499,054 B1
• Filed: 12/02/1999
• Issued: 12/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Senvid, Inc. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Bjornson, Eric S., Rizal, Dharmarus, Hesselink, Lambertus
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US09/454,178
• Time in Patent Office: 1,118 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/204, 709/205, 709/231, 382/110, 382/133, 434/276
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/00 Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A method and system for enabling multiple users from different physical locations to access, observe, control and manipulate physical processes and devices over a computer network such as the Internet is disclosed. A user may visually monitor the physical set up and state of an experiment or environment by receiving live video and data, as well as directly control instrumentation while receiving live feedback regarding the input commands. Measurement data may be collected into a database and computational analysis can be generated and displayed as a physical process is being performed. An online interactive laboratory notebook is also provided that manages items such as collected data, laboratory parameters, “to do” lists, personal notes, etc.

Claims

1. A system for remote physical process access and operation, comprising:

a laboratory server operatively coupled to at least one said physical process and configured to monitor and control said physical process;

at least one client process, said client process configured to provide control instructions to said physical process and to receive data from said physical process, wherein said data is dynamic data which comprises a live image of said physical process;

a connection server operatively coupled to said laboratory server and said client process, said connection server configured to route said control instructions from said client process to said laboratory server and to route said dynamic data from said laboratory server to said client process via said computer network;

a video camera positioned in association with said physical process, said camera operatively coupled to said connection server and configured to transmit an image of said physical process to said client process via said connection server; and

a video server operatively coupled to said video camera and said connection server, said video server configured to acquire said live image of said physical process.