Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-18
2001-06-12
Wu, Daniel J. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S506000, C340S522000, C340S531000, C340S870030, C700S108000, C700S241000, C702S194000, C702S185000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246325
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to processes and equipment for communications between service providers and their remote equipment units, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to improving the efficiency of information exchange between the service providers and their remote equipment units.
2. Description of Prior Art
It is common for a business to have equipment units placed at remote locations. For example a semiconductor equipment company may place various manufacturing plants worldwide at remote locations. Generally, the remote equipment units (e.g., the manufacturing plants) are chosen by semiconductor company at locations which are physically situated close to the actual customer sites (e.g., users of semiconductor chips). The remote equipment units are generally monitored by sensors and other monitoring equipment including audio alarms and LED displays. If the remote equipment unit fails or is otherwise in need of repair, the sensors and other monitoring equipment indicate an alarm condition. Monitoring personnel notice the alarm condition and then contact a repair person by phone or other means (e.g., computer, pager, etc.). The repair person then visits the remote location to place the customers back in service.
Unfortunately, this process consumes a considerable amount of time. In particular, there is an undesirable down-time before the monitoring personnel notice the alarm condition and contact the repair person. The dollar cost increases drastically when the manufacturing plants are down for an extended period of time and the production has been stopped.
A different problem arises when the monitoring personnel are not available at the remote locations to watch for alarm conditions and to contact the repair person, e.g., during off-duty hours. In this case, the down-time is further exacerbated by the fact that the alarm conditions may go unnoticed for long periods of time.
Indeed, delays in contacting the repair person and in repairing the remote equipment units may be quite costly, especially when the business is handling crucial equipment. In a semiconductor industry, the manufacturing of chips may consist of several pieces of fabrication equipment and the down-time associated with any of the fabrication equipment can cause shut down of actual production.
One approach to these problems is to have the repair person be available at the remote location, but this strategy often adversely impacts the cost of the business. Additionally, more than one repair person (i.e., each having a different expertise) may be required for each type of equipment, thereby making it nearly impossible to have all required expertise available at the remote location.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method for coordinating the prompt and efficient exchange of alarm and other information between service providers and their remote equipment units.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method to more efficiently exchange information between a business, such as a semiconductor equiment company, and its remote equipment units are provided.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a distributed communications system capable of immediately handling a number of information items, each belonging to a different remote equipment unit is disclosed. The distributed communications system includes a central controller configured for interfacing with a plurality of remote equipment units via a wireless network. The central controller is configured to receive information from each remote equipment unit via a wireless network. This information includes alarm conditions and corresponding requests for repair. Each of the remote equipment units is identified by a unique code which is included in the information transmitted to the computer to identity the source (i.e., identity of the transmitting remote equipment unit). The central controller uses the code of the transmitting remote equipment unit to retrieve the corresponding data record stored in its memory. The repair person identified in the selected data record is then contacted automatically, e.g., by wireless paging.
Thus, the down-time of the remote equipment unit is reduced because the alarm condition is immediately transmitted to the central controller and the corresponding repair person is contacted automatically. There is no undesired down-time before monitoring personnel notices the alarm condition and contacts the corresponding repair person.
The distributed communications system of the present invention is also capable of keeping track of routine maintenance schedules. The distributed communications system may be programmed with a pre-determined routine maintenance schedule for each remote equipment unit. Based on this schedule, the distributed communications system automatically contacts the appropriate repair person by wireless paging and dispatches the repair person to the corresponding remote equipment unit for routine maintenance.
In one embodiment, the present invention is a method comprising the steps of: (a) determining at the central controller that a service condition exists for a particular equipment unit; and (b) automatically transmitting a service request to notify a repair person remotely located from both the central controller and the particular equipment unit about the service condition.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a central controller for maintaining operability of a plurality of equipment units remotely located from the central controller, wherein the central controller determines that a service condition exists for a particular equipment unit; and the central controller automatically transmits a service request to notify a repair person remotely located from both the central controller and the particular equipment unit about the service condition.
Yet in one more embodiment, the present invention is an alarm transmitter configured to a particular equipment unit for maintaining operability of the particular equipment unit, wherein the alarm transmitter detects an alarm condition at the particular equipment unit and automatically transmits an alarm message identifying the particular equipment unit to the central controller, which, in turn, transmits a repair request to a repair person remotely located from both the central controller and the particular equipment unit about the alarm condition.
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Agere Systems Guardian Corp.
Mendelsohn Steve
Pham Toan
Wu Daniel J.
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