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US 12,332,622 B2Granted
Monitoring a field machine
AssigneeControl Station, Inc.
InventorsGary Ryecroft, Damian Allinson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A communication module (100) for monitoring a machine (200) includes a serial interface (110) connectable to a serial interface of the machine (200); a telecommunications interface (120) connectable to a telecommunications network; and a control unit (130) configured to transmit data received via the serial interface (110) to a monitoring server (300) via the telecommunications interface (120). The module (100) provides network connectivity to industrial machinery, thereby providing a means of remotely monitoring such machines, including legacy machines which may not otherwise support network connectivity.
Claims18
A communication module for monitoring a machine, comprising:
- a serial interface connectable to a serial interface of the machine;
- a telecommunications interface connectable to a telecommunications network, wherein the telecommunications interface is a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) module configured to communicate over a GSM network;
- and
- a control unit configured to control operation of the communication module, the control unit being further configured to transmit data received via the serial interface to a monitoring server via the telecommunications interface;
- the control unit being further configured to receive configuration data via the telecommunications interface, wherein the configuration data comprises:
- machine type data indicating data items of the machine to be monitored, retrieved from the machine via the serial interface and transmitted via the telecommunication interface;
- periodicity data indicating a periodicity of transmissions of the retrieved data items to be made by the communication module via the telecommunication interface;
- and
- operating configuration data, indicating the desired operating configuration of the communication module according to which the data items are to be retrieved.
6 more elements
A communication system for monitoring a machine, the system comprising:
- a machine;
- a communication module for monitoring the machine;
- and
- a monitoring server configured to receive data from the communication module via a telecommunications network, and store the received data in a memory;
- wherein the communication module comprises:
- a serial interface of the communication module connected to a serial interface of the machine;
- a telecommunications interface connectable to the telecommunications network, wherein the telecommunications interface is a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) module configured to communicate over a GSM network;
- and
- a control unit configured to control operation of the communication module, the control unit being further configured to transmit data received via the serial interface of the communication module to the monitoring server via the telecommunications interface;
- the control unit being further configured to receive configuration data via the telecommunications interface, wherein the configuration data comprises:
- machine type data indicating data items of the machine, retrieved from the machine via the serial interface of the machine and transmitted via the telecommunication interface;
- periodicity data indicating a periodicity of transmissions of the retrieved data items to be made by the communication module via the telecommunication interface;
- and
- operating configuration data, indicating the desired operating configuration of the communication module according to which the data items are to be retrieved.
11 more elements
A method of monitoring a machine, comprising:
- receiving, by a communication module, data from the machine via a serial interface;
- and
- sending, by the communication module, the received data over a telecommunications network to a monitoring server wherein the telecommunications interface is a GSM module configured to communicate over a GSM network;
- a control unit receives configuration data via the telecommunications interface, wherein the configuration data comprises:
- machine type data indicating data items of the machine to be monitored, retrieved from the machine via the serial interface and transmitted via the telecommunication interface;
- periodicity data indicating a periodicity of transmissions of the retrieved data items to be made by the communication module via the telecommunication interface;
- and
- operating configuration data, indicating the desired operating configuration of the communication module according to which the data items are to be retrieved.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.