Method and apparatus for inexpensively monitoring and controlling remotely distributed appliances
DCFirst Claim
1. A device communications module, comprising:
- a microcontroller;
a local area network (LAN) communication device coupled between the microcontroller and a cluster communications module configured to communicate with a plurality of device communications modules; and
a device interface coupled between the microcontroller and an appliance;
wherein the microcontroller receives data from the appliance and transmits data to the appliance through the device interface via a first communications protocol and receives data from the cluster communications module and transmits data to the cluster communications module through the LAN communication device via a second communications protocol.
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Abstract
A method and associated apparatus are described that enables unattended, remotely distributed appliances, such as vending machines, utility meters, thermostats and kitchen appliances (ovens, washing machines, refrigerators, etc.) to be connected inexpensively to each other and to a centrally located server. The apparatus 1) uses relatively simple “personality” modules to adapt the apparatus to the application in combination with a sophisticated core module that provides the intelligence needed to process data locally, to format that data and to transfer it to a remote server and 2) uses existing Internet-based communication links, thereby avoiding the costly proprietary links used with current state-of-the-art solutions.
189 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A device communications module, comprising:
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a microcontroller; a local area network (LAN) communication device coupled between the microcontroller and a cluster communications module configured to communicate with a plurality of device communications modules; and a device interface coupled between the microcontroller and an appliance; wherein the microcontroller receives data from the appliance and transmits data to the appliance through the device interface via a first communications protocol and receives data from the cluster communications module and transmits data to the cluster communications module through the LAN communication device via a second communications protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification