The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 28, 1997
Filed:
Jan. 07, 1994
Gregory A Pascucci, Waukesha, WI (US);
David E Rasmussen, Wales, WI (US);
Gaylon M Decious, Milwaukee, WI (US);
James R Garbe, Greenfield, WI (US);
Susan M Hyzer, Brown Deer, WI (US);
Karen L Woest, Wauwatosa, WI (US);
Vairavan Vairavan, Milwaukee, WI (US);
David L Koch, Fox Point, WI (US);
Donald A Gottschalk, Jr, Milwaukee, WI (US);
Dennis E Burkhardt, Franklin, WI (US);
Darrell E Standish, New Berlin, WI (US);
Paul W Madaus, Oak Creek, WI (US);
Dan J Spacek, Cudahy, WI (US);
Clay G Nesler, New Berlin, WI (US);
James K Stark, Wauwatosa, WI (US);
Otto M Mageland, Greenfield, WI (US);
Robert R Singers, Brown Deer, WI (US);
Michael E Wagner, Delafield, WI (US);
Johnson Service Company, Milwaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
A networked system having a wide variety of applications and particularly applicable to facilities management systems has multiple levels of software in processing nodes. The levels include a 'features' processing level which communicates requests for data to a software object level containing databases of processes and attributes and database managers. The database managers in the software object level operate to provide data to the high level features in the same format. The software object level communicates with a hardware object level which also contains databases and database managers to mask differences between operational hardware units. By categorizing operational units by type, additional units of a known type can be added with only low level hardware object database changes. Adding units of a new type is facilitated by software changes confined to the lower level hardware and software objects, avoiding software changes at high level features. Individual software objects are tailored for typical types of inputs and output devices encountered by facilities management systems. Universal drive circuitry also provides applicability to a broad range of devices. Nodes store restoration characteristics of loads controlled by the nodes. After being shed to limit energy consumption, software local to the node restores the loads under predefined circumstances independently of the load shed commands to achieve distributed load management.