US 2002/0002443 A1 · MULTI-LEVEL ARCHITECTURE FOR MONITORING AND CONTROLLING A FUNCTIONAL SYSTEM

Abstract

A system for monitoring and reporting the health and status of an independent functional system which collects, transmits, and analyzes data on the occurrence of events within the monitored system. The system incorporates a monitoring node; a data collection node; a host computer; status monitoring means; data management means; with communication links coupling the monitoring node(s) to the data collection node(s), and the data collection node(s) to the host computer. The status monitoring means and data management means are distributed across the nodes as software, firmware, or hardware implementations. The monitoring node includes discrete, and possibly analog, inputs which can be connected to the functional component being monitored. The analysis can include validation of input values against acceptable values; verification of the relative timing of two or more input events; and verification of the sequence of input events and may utilize the data from a single monitoring node; two or more monitoring nodes attached to the same data collection node; or two or more monitoring nodes attached to different data collection nodes. The system may include non-volatile storage of event data allowing the analysis to utilize stored data in addition to newly received data.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A monitoring system, for use with a functional system comprised of functional components, comprising:

(a) at least one monitoring node comprising a general purpose microcomputer, plural discrete input connections coupled to said microcomputer, and a first communications interface providing data input and output to said microcomputer, said monitoring node adapted to be connected to one of the functional components;
(b) status monitoring means for detecting and reporting input value changes on said discrete inputs;
(c) at least one data collection node comprising a general purpose microcomputer, a second and a third communication interfaces, providing data input and output to said microcomputer, said second communication interface in communication with said first communication interface;
(d) data management means in communication with said status monitoring means which receives said input value change reports and transmits said reports using said communication interfaces;
(e) a general purpose host computer comprising a fourth communication interface, said fourth communication interface in communication with said third communication interface;

2 more elements

A monitoring and control system, for use with a functional system comprised of functional components, where at least some of the functional components include a control element which responds to functional input signals, comprising:

(a) at least one monitoring and control node comprising a general purpose microcomputer, plural discrete input connections coupled to said microcomputer, plural discrete output connections coupled to said microcomputer, and a first communication interface providing data input and output to said microcomputer;
(b) status monitoring means for detecting and reporting input value changes on said discrete inputs;
(c) at least one data collection node comprising a general purpose microcomputer, a second and a third communication interfaces, providing data input and output to said microcomputer, said second communication interface in communication with said first communication interface;
(d) data management means in communication with said status monitoring means which receives said input value change reports and transmits said reports using said communication interfaces;
(e) a general purpose host computer comprising a fourth communication interface, said fourth communication interface in communication with said third communication interface;
wherein said monitoring and control node is adapted to replace the control element and to respond to the functional control signals in the same manner as the replaced control element.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Multi-level architecture for monitoring and controlling a functional system

Life of this patent

Multi-level architecture for monitoring and controlling a functional system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24