Penovia LLC v. Apple Inc

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against Apple Inc ( Filing fee $ 400 receipt number 0540-4547640.), filed by Penovia LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Spangler, Andrew)

EXHIBIT A
U.S. Patent No. 5,822,221

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US005822221A
United States Patent

[11]

Groen ternan
[54]

lllventor:

[21]

Date of Patent:

OFFICE MACHINE MONITORING DEVICE

[76]

Patent Number:

[45)

[19J

Appl. No.: 760,389

[22J Filed:
[51]
[52]
[58]

[56]

Dec. 4, 1996

References Cited

U.S. PATE T DOCUMENTS
4,167,322 9(1 979 Yano el al. .......... ............. ...... 355/3 R
4,497,037 1/1985 Kato et al. .......... ................... . 364/900
4,583,834 411 986 Seko el a!. .......... .................. 355/14 C
4,965,676 10/1990 Ejiri el al. ............................... 358/406
4,975,926 12/1990 Knapp ......................................... 375/ 1
4,999,672 3/1991 Rice, Jr. eL al. ........................ 355/202
5,005,183 4/1 991 Carey el aJ. ........ ................. ...... . 375/ l
5,016,059 5/1991 Smciman ............ .................... 355/308
5,046,066 9/1991 Messenger ............................. 370/94.1
5,057,866 10/1991 Hill, Jr. et al. ......................... 355/200

Primary Examiner-James P. Tramme ll
Attorney, A gent, or Firm--Baker & Botts, L.L.P.

AUSTRACT

[57]

An office machine mon itoring device (31) incl udes an
interface unit (32) that couples to a main logic board (50)
and a front panel display circui t (52) of an office machine
(30). The interface unit (32) intercepts data exchanged
between the main l ogic board (50) and the fron t panel
display circuit (52). The i nterface unit (32) provides the
interce pted data to a microcontrollcr unit (34) for processing. The microcontroller unit (34) processes the intercepted
data and provides a wireless message to a transceiver unit
(36). The transceiver unit (36) transmits the wirel ess message to a s upervisory transceiver base unit (28) to allow for
remote monitoring and control of the o !Iice machine (30).

l2 Claims, 2 .Drawing Sheets

32
50

MACHINE'S
MAIN LOGIC
BOARD

54

31~

Oct. 13, 1998

5,077,582 12/1991 Kravelle el al. ........................ 355/206
5,084,875
1/1992 Weinberger et al. ................... 371/291
5,164,767 11/1992 Suzuki ........................... ....... 355/200
5,214,772 5/1993 Weinberger ct al. ....... ............ 395/575
5,220,380 6/1993 Hirata ct al. ................ ............ 355/204
5,231,646 7/1993 Heath et al. ................................ 375/1
5,282,127
l /1994 Mii ............ .............................. 364/130
5,293,196 3/1994 Kaneko el a!. ......................... 355/200
5,398,2')7 3/ 1995 Groenteman ............................ 375/200

FrankS. Groenteman, 3304 Cornell
Ave., Dalht~, l ex. 75205

Int. CI." ..................................................... GOlB 17/00
U.S. Cl. ................................................ 364/550; 399/8
Field of Search ............................ 364/550; 355/308,
355/14, 704, 207; 340/825.17; 375/200;
399/8, 81

5,822,221

MACHINE'S
FRONT PANEL
DISPLAY

56
M!CROCONTROLLER
66 UNIT 68

52

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... ,\II,.. ...

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.......

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.......
=

TRANSCIEVER BASE UNIT COMMUNICATES
WITH ALL MACHINES WITHIN RANGE.
COMMUNICATES DATA OVER A
(NON DEDICATED, SHARED) TELEPHONE
LINE, LAN OR DIRECTLY WITH A

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FIG. 1

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VENDING
MACHINES

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U.S. Patent

5,822,221

Sheet 2 of 2

Oct. 13, 1998

FIG. 2

10

~

DTMF TO ASCII CONVERTER
INTO SERIAL PORT

REMOTE {BASE) MICROPROCESSOR UNIT CONNECTED
TO A TELEPHONE LINE

28
REMOTE HOST
MONITORING
COMPUTER

BASE TRANSCIEVER UNIT
COMMUNICATES WITH ALL
MACHINES WITHIN RANGE

31

~

/

36

MACHINE TRANSCIEVER UNIT
COMMUNICATES WITH
TRANSCIEVER BASE UNIT
WITHIN RANGE

MACHINE MICROPROCESSOR UNIT
INTE
RFACES WITH MACHINE AND
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

50

MACHINE'S
MAIN LOGIC
BOARD

54

31~

FIG. 3

MACHINE'S
FRONT PANEL
DISPLAY

56
MCROCONTROLLER
I
66 UNIT 68

52

34

5,822,221
1

2

OFFICE MACHINE MONITORING DEVICE

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
INVENTION

TECHNICAL f' IELD OF TI-lE INVENTION
l be present inventio n relates in general to office machine
maintenance techniques and more particularly to an office
machine monitoring device.
BACKGROUND OF TI-lE INVENTION
Office machine products such as laser printers copiers and
computers are well known in the art. 1bese office machines
generate status info rmation that typically can be mon itored
manually or through connection to a computer, either
directly or indirectly over telephone line communications.
I-Iowc;ver, these monitoring techniques are not economically
justifiab le for the office machine maintenance industry
because o r the costs involved in sending a maintenance
person to monitor the office machine or in establishing a
computer monitoring station with telephone line access.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a maintenance techniqu e
that monitors ollice machine status without personal attention or expensive computer and telecommunica tions att achments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
From the foregoing, it may be appreciated that a need has
arisen fo r a technique to monitor ollice machines in an
efficient and inexpensive manner. In accordance with the
present invention, an office machine monitoring device is
provided that substantially eliminates or reduces disadvantages and problems associated w ith conventional monito ring
techn iqu es.
According to an embodiment of the present invention,
there is provided an office machine monitoring device that
includes an interfa ce circuit coupled to the logic circuit and
the display circuit oft be ollicc machine. The interface circuit
intercepts data from the logic circuit of the office machine
while allowing the display circu it of the office machine to
receive the data. The data intercepted by the interface board
is processed by a microcontroller unit, placed into a wireless
message format, and sent to a monitoring base through a
wireless transceiver unit.
The present invention provides various technical advantages over co nventiona l monito ring techniques. For
example, one technical advantage is to have an interface unit
with in the ollice machine to intercept data without aliccting
tbe operation of the office machine. Another technical
advantage is to provide monitoring of office machines
with out performing manual checks or establishing expensive communicatio n links. Other technical advantages are
readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following
tlgures, description, and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIN GS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to
the following description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals
represent like parts, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an office machine
monitoring network;
FIG. 2 illustrates operation of an office machine monitoring device within the otlice machine monitoring network;
FIG. 3 illustrates the office machine monitoring device
connected within an o ffice machine.

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FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an office machine mon itoring
network 10. Office machine monitoring network 10 may be
established in a similar mann er as the copier monitoring
network disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,257 issued on Mar.
14, 1995 to Groenteman and incorporated herein by reference. Ollice machine monitoring network 10 provides the
capab ility to r)erform s tatus and alarm communications with
a variety of office machines to inclu de computers 12, laser
printers 14, vending machines 16, plotters 18, copiers 20,
other printers 22, and fax machines 24. Though not shown,
otbcr otlicc machines that may be also included in office
machine monitoring net work 10 are fi le servers, cash
machines, debit card machi nes, and coin machines. All ollice
machines within a range of coverage communicate with a
supervisory transceiver base un it 28 to provide status and
alarm information and receive operating and control information.
FIG. 2 shows the operation of office machine monitoring
network 10 with respect to a single office machine 30. An
ollice machine monitoring device 31 coupled to an ollice
machine 30, such as a printer, includes an interface unit 32,
a microcontroller unit 34, and a transceiver unit 36. lnterface
unit 32, microcontroller u nit 34, and transceiver unit 36 may
be configured on a single b oard or separate boards, and may
be located internal to ollice machine 30 or external to office.
machine 30. Interface boa rd 32 provides the data handshaking functionality to retrieve status and alam1 information
from and provide operation and control information to office
machine 30. Interface unit 32 may be coupled between a
display cable connector and a main logic bo ard connector of
ollice machine 30. Interface unit 32 allows data to be sent to
a display unit of office machine 30 while also captu ring that
data for transfer to microcontroller unit 34. FIG. 3 shows a
schemat ic circuit diagram of interface unit 32 fo r a laser
printer.
Microcontroller unit 34 monitors the data transferred to
the di<splay unit of office machine 30. When an appropriate
data signal is identiJied by microcontroller unit 34, microcontroller unit 34 initiates the transmission of the correspo nding alarm and status informa tion. Microcoutroller unit
34 can analyze analog or digital signals generated by office
machine 30, such as metering signals identifying page/onit
counts for inventory, machine signals identifying alarms,
security breaches, and service requests, and s tatus signals
icleutifying operating temperatures and physical configurations. The analog and digital signals identi fied above are not
an exhaustive list as microcontroller unit 34 can analyze aH
operational characteristics of office machine 30.
Transceiver un it 36 rece ives alarm and status info rmation
from microcontroller u nit 34 for wireless transmission to a
supervisory transceiver base unit 28 within office machine
monitoring network 10. Transceiver unit 36 may provide
data transmission to supervisory transceiver base unit 28
over any number of frequencies, including radio, and may
employ any variety of communication techniques, including
spread spectrum and encryption. An example of a frequency
used by transceiver unit 36 may include 913.5 Ml-lz to avoid
the user to require an FCC license.
Supervisory transceiver base unit 28 receives alarm and
status information transmitted by transceiver unit 36 for
processing by a base microprocessor unit 40. Base microprocessor unit 40 handles any type of office machine w ithin
range of supervisory transceiver base unit 28. Base microprocessor unit 40 processes the alarm and status information

5,822,221

3

4

and transfers the processed alarm and status information to
a remote host monitoring computer 42 either directly, by a
non-dedicated shared telephone line connection, or through
a local area network. For communication over a te lephone
line connection, a DTMF to ASCII converter 44 provides the
interface between the touch lone signaling of base microprocessor unit 40 and the ASCII protocol of remote host
monitoring computer 42. Remote host monitoring computer
42 performs the monitoring function on the alarm and status
information of office machine 30. Remote bast monitoring
computer 42 may provide management reporting capabilities in response to the alam1 and status in[ormalion. Remote
host monitoring computer 42 may also generate correction,
adjustment, and control data for communication back to
office machine 30.
FIG. 3 shows how of:lke machine monitoring device 31 is
connected to office machine 30. Office machine 30 includes
a main logic board 50 and a front panel display circuit 52.
Typically, office machine 30 has a cable or ot her connecting
apparatus extending between a display connection 54 of
main log.ic board 50 and a logic board connectio n 56 of front
panel display circuit 52 for data exchange such that status
information can be displayed and to allow for control
information to be returned from front panel inputs. Office
machine monitoring device 31 is inserted into oftice
machine 30 by coupling display connection 54 of main logic
board 50 with an interface logic connection 60 of interface
unit 32. Interface unit 32 includes an interface display
connection 62 that couples to logic board connection 56 of
front panel display circuit 52 by a display cable 63. Interface
unit 32 also includes a microcontroller connection 64 to
couple interface unit 32 with microcontroller unit 34 at an
interface connection 66 by an interface cable 65.
Through coupling with main logic board 50 and front
panel display circuit 52 of office machine 30, interface unit
32 can intercept status and control data transferred between
main logic board 50 and front panel display circuit 52.
Interface unit 32 provides this data interception capability
without affecting data exchange and transfer between main
logic board 50 and front panel display circuit 52. Data
intercepted by interface unit32 is transferred through microcontroller connection 64 and interface connection 66 to
microcontroller unit 34. After processing, rnicrocontroller
unit 3 4 provides transceiver unit 36 with a wireless message
through a transceiver connection 68 and a message conneclion 70 for wireless transmission to supervisory transceiver
base unit 28.
Thus, it is app arent that there has been provided, in
accordance with the present invention, an office machine
monitoring device that satisfies the advantages set torth
above. Although the present invention has been described in
detail, it shou ld be understood tha t various changes,
substitut ions, and alterations can be made herein. for
examp le, though cable connectio ns are shown and
discussed, the interface unit of tbe office machine monitoring device may couple to the rna in logic board and the front
panel display of the office machine through any conventiona l connection techniques. Other examp les are readily
ascertainable to one skilled in the art and can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
1. A devi.c e for monitori11g an office machine, comprising:
an interface unit coupled to a main logic board and a
display circuit of the office machine, the interface u nit
being directly connected to the main logic board to
receive data geuerated by the main logic board, the
interface unit providing the data to the display circuit;
a microcontroller unit operable to process the data provided by the interface unit; and
a transceiver unit operable to transmit the data processed
by the microcontroller unit through a wireless transmission techniqu e.
2. The device of claim 1, wbereio the interface unit
intercepts the data without affecting communications
between the main logic board and the display circuit.
3 . The device of claim 1, wherein the interface unit
connects to a display connection of the main logic board and
couples to a logic board connection of the display circuit
through a display cable.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the interface unit is
inserted between the display connection of the main log ic
board and an existing display cable of the office machine
extending to the display circuit.
5 . The device of claim 1, wherein the ollice machine is a
laser printer.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the transceiver uoit
operates at a frequency of 913.5 MHz.
7. A system for monitoring an ofr:ice machine, comprising:
an office machine monitoring device coupled to the office
machine, the office machine monitoring device including:
au interface unit coupled to a main logic board and a
display circuit of the ofrjce machine, the interface
unit being directly connected to the main logic board
to receive data generated by the main logic board, the
interface uoit providing tbe data to tbe display circuit;
a microcontroller unit operable to process the data
received by the interface unit;
a transce iver unit operable to transmit the data processed by the microcontroller unit through a wireless
transmission technique;
a supervisory transceiver base unit operable to receive the
data transmitted by tbe transmitter unit; and
a base microprocessor unit operable to process the data
received by the supervisory transceiver base un it.
8 . The system o f claim 7 , further comprising:
a monitoring computer operable to record the data processed by the base microprocessor unit.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the microprocessor unit
sends processed data to the monitoring computer through a
DTMF to ASCII converter.
10. 1be system of claim 8, wherein the monitoring
computer is operable to generate control messages tor
transmission to the office machine, the control messages
providing operationa l instructions for the office machine.
11. The system of claim 7, wherein the otlice machine is
a laser printer.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the transceiver unit
and the supervisory transce iver base unit exchange messages
at a frequency of 913.5 MHz.

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