Equipment service vehicle with remote monitoring
First Claim
1. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
- a power source,a power transmission link,a plurality of input devices,a plurality of output devices,an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links, and the on-board computer system being configured to store I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices;
wherein the plurality of interface modules are distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled, so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices;
wherein the on-board computer system is configured to transmit at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to an off-board computer system;
wherein the on-board computer system stores a vehicle maintenance record, the vehicle maintenance record comprising a descriptive log of maintenance activities performed on the vehicle, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit information from the vehicle maintenance record to the off-board computer system; and
wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and
wherein the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and wherein output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system comprises an equipment service vehicle and an off-board computer system. The equipment service vehicle further includes a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, and an on-board computer system. The on-board computer system further includes a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network. The plurality of interface modules are coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link and are interconnected to each other by way of the communication network. Each of the plurality of interface modules is coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective dedicated communication links. The on-board computer system stores I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices. The on-board computer system transmits at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to the off-board computer system.
518 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links, and the on-board computer system being configured to store I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices; wherein the plurality of interface modules are distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled, so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices; wherein the on-board computer system is configured to transmit at least some of the I/O status information by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link to an off-board computer system; wherein the on-board computer system stores a vehicle maintenance record, the vehicle maintenance record comprising a descriptive log of maintenance activities performed on the vehicle, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit information from the vehicle maintenance record to the off-board computer system; and wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and wherein the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and wherein output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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(A) a fleet of equipment service vehicles, each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles comprising (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links, and the on-board computer system being configured to store I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices; (6) a camera and a graphical display, wherein images obtained from the camera are communicable to the graphical display by way of the communication network; and (B) an off-board computer system, the off-board computer system being configured to communicate with each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication network, the off-board computer system being configured to generate a report that compares utilization information for each of the plurality of vehicles; wherein the on-board computer system of at least one of the vehicles is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and wherein at least one of the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and wherein output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links; a camera and a graphical display, wherein images obtained from the camera are communicable from the camera to the graphical display by way of the communication network; and wherein the plurality of interface modules are distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled, so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices; wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; wherein the on-board computer system stores a vehicle maintenance record, the vehicle maintenance record comprising a descriptive log of maintenance activities performed on the vehicle, the on-board computer being configured to transmit information from the vehicle maintenance log to an off-board computer system; and wherein the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems; wherein the plurality of input devices include a plurality of operator input devices.
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23. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links; a camera and a graphical display, wherein images obtained from the camera are communicable from the camera to the graphical display by way of the communication network; and wherein the plurality of interface modules are distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled, so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices; wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; wherein the on-board computer system stores a vehicle maintenance record, the vehicle maintenance record comprising a descriptive log of maintenance activities performed on the vehicle, the on-board computer being configured to transmit information from the vehicle maintenance log to an off-board computer system; and wherein the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links; a camera and a graphical display, wherein images obtained from the camera are communicable from the camera to the graphical display by way of the communication network; and wherein the plurality of interface modules are distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled, so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices; wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; wherein the on-board computer system stores a vehicle maintenance record, the vehicle maintenance record comprising a descriptive log of maintenance activities performed on the vehicle, the on-board computer being configured to transmit information from the vehicle maintenance log to an off-board computer system; and wherein usage of different variant modules is compared.
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30. A system comprising:
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(A) a fleet of vehicles, each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles comprising (1) a power source, (2) a power transmission link, (3) a plurality of input devices, (4) a plurality of output devices, (5) an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules and a communication network, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links, the plurality of interface modules being distributed throughout the vehicle, and each respective interface module being locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled so as to permit, by way of the respective communication link, distributed data collection from the respective input devices to the respective interface module and distributed power distribution from the respective interface module to the respective output devices, and the on-board computer system being configured to store I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices; (6) a camera and a graphical display, wherein images obtained from the camera are communicable from the camera to the graphical display by way of the communication network; and (B) an off-board computer system configured to connect to each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles by way of a wireless radiofrequency communication network to transmit a firmware upgrade to the on-board computer system; wherein the on-board computer system on each vehicle in the fleet of vehicles is configured to periodically and automatically access the off-board computer system and perform the firmware upgrade; wherein the on-board computer system of at least one of the vehicles is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and wherein at least one of the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and wherein output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems.
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31. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, and an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links; and wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and wherein the vehicle comprises a plurality of vehicle subsystems, and wherein output devices are compared to indicate relative usage of particular vehicle subsystems.
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32. An equipment service vehicle comprising:
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a power source, a power transmission link, a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, and an on-board computer system including a plurality of microprocessor-based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, each of the plurality of interface modules being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices by way of respective communication links; and wherein the on-board computer system is configured to receive test commands from an off-board computer system by way of a wireless radio-frequency communication link, the on-board computer system being configured to perform tests on the vehicle in accordance with the test commands received from the off-board computer system, the on-board computer system being configured to transmit results of the tests to the off-board computer system; and wherein usage of different variant modules is compared.
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Specification