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:
May. 08, 2012
Filed:
Mar. 17, 2003
Fred S. Cook, Olathe, KS (US);
Fred S. Cook, Olathe, KS (US);
Sprint Communications Company L.P., Overland Park, KS (US);
Abstract
A programmable control unit interacts with a physical system. The physical system has a public network interface for communicating with remote computer systems. A user computer system is located remotely from the programmable control unit. A front-end security gateway is located remotely from the programmable control unit, wherein the front-end security gateway communicates with the user computer system to authenticate and authorize a user for access to the programmable control unit. The front-end security gateway forwards messages between the user computer system and the programmable control unit after the user is authenticated and authorized. A public communication network is coupled between the front-end security gateway and the programmable control unit to carry the forwarded messages. The public communication network includes a routing control configured to allow communication with the programmable control unit only by the front-end security gateway.