Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company

Thomas E Nastek

William C Schuh

Leon J McNutt

An asset management system and method including an asset and a data tag attached to the asset. The data tag includes a data tag memory and a data tag communication interface. The system also includes asset information stored in the data tag memory, wherein the asset information including a characteristic of the asset. Also an asset management method for managing information related to assets. The method includes initializing a data tag with asset information and includes transmitting asset information to the data tag and storing the asset information in a memory of the data tag. The asset information includes service contact information The method also includes retrieving asset information from a data tag.

System and method for managing asset information

An interface for graphically programming a ramping controller coupled to and controlling an electric heater is implemented with a microcomputer. The interface presents to the user via a display device, a cartesian coordinate graph of temperature versus time onto which is plotted a desired temperature versus time (tvt) profile via an input device. The microcomputer translates the plotted tvt profile into controller logic to create a controller logic data file that is then uploaded into the ramping controller. The controller logic data file may be stored in memory. In addition to temperature, other functions or events may be plotted on the graph which are also translated into controller logic and uploaded to the ramping controller. Other features include data logging of heater parameters that may displayed in real time. The present invention eliminates cumbersome front panel entry of the data into the controller. A multiplicity of controllers, and thus heaters, may be coupled thereto and programmed through addressing. Additionally, all types of controllers may be monitored from a monitor screen.

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Winona, MN, United States of America

Thomas E Nastek