Hot-melt equipment having internet connectivity and method of servicing and/or monitoring the same via the internet
OwnerDieter Heerdtinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Hot-melt equipment is provided with Internet as well as Intranet connectivity capabilities, resulting in numerous service, maintenance and cost efficiencies. The equipment is configured as a web server which contains web pages presenting an operational status of the equipment to a remote user, such as a vendor's technical support person, in a user-friendly format, such as HTML. The web pages allow the user to browse through numerous parameters of the equipment, and facilite remote control or trouble-shooting of the equipment. The hot-melt equipment is also provided with email capability to notify, by emails in human-readable form, a service center of a scheduled maintenace task or an abnormal operation mode of the equipment.
Claims36
A device with network connectivity for dispensing a liquid on a surface, comprising:
- liquid dispensing equipment comprising a liquid reservoir and an applicator head in liquid communication with said reservoir;
- an electronic controller coupled to said liquid dispensing equipment for at least controlling application of the liquid, by said applicator head, on the surface;
- and
- network hardware and software for providing said device with network connectivity, said network hardware communicating with said electronic controller and having a network connector for making connection to a network to which said device is to be connected, and said network software, when being executed by said network hardware, configuring said network hardware to be recognized and function as a network server in the network.
A method of monitoring and/or controlling liquid dispensing equipment having an embedded electronic controller remotely accessible via a network, said liquid dispensing equipment comprising a liquid reservoir and an applicator head in liquid communication with said reservoir for receiving a liquid therefrom and controllably dispensing the liquid on a surface, said method comprising the steps of:
- establishing a communication over the network between the electronic controller and a user at a remote terminal;
- and
- presenting to the user, by the electronic controller, a virtual user interface containing at least one of static and dynamic information about said liquid dispensing equipment.
Hot-melt equipment with network connectivity, comprising:
- a hot-melt section comprising a melter for melting a material initially in solid form, a supply hose having an end in liquid communication with an outlet of said melter, and an applicator head in liquid communication with another end of said supply hose for receiving the melted material and controllably dispensing the melted material on a surface;
- an electronic controller coupled to said hot-melt section for at least controlling application of the melted material in liquid form, by said applicator head, on the surface;
- and
- network hardware and software for providing said hot-melt equipment with network connectivity, said network hardware communicating with said electronic controller and having a network connector for making connection to a computer network to which said hot-melt equipment is to be connected, and said network software, when being executed by said network hardware, configuring said network hardware to be recognized and function as a network server in the computer network.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.