The subject matter disclosed herein relates to remote monitoring and diagnostics, and more specifically, to a system and method for transferring data between separate networks to enable remote monitoring and diagnostics.
In remote monitoring and diagnostics, a diagnostic center at a remote location is connected to a customer location via a network. The diagnostic center obtains data from the customer location over the network. The data is generally related to a device at the customer location, such as a turbine. Operators at the remote location receive and monitor the data in order to diagnose the condition or operation of the device. This arrangement provides customer service without intrusive on-site visits and/or scheduled maintenance shutdowns, etc. However, having a network connection between the customer location and the diagnostics center exposes the customer location to the possibility of viruses from the remote location and/or undesired access or hacking from malevolent individuals who have gained access to the remote location. Potential customers can be hesitant to enter into a remote monitoring and diagnostics arrangement that carries such risks.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method of remotely monitoring and diagnosing a device includes: obtaining data from the device at a first network; encrypting the data to generate an encrypted code at the first network; obtaining a copy of the encrypted code at a second network separated from the first network via a non-network medium; decoding the copy of the encrypted code to obtain a copy of the data at the second network; and monitoring and diagnosing the device at the second network using the copy of the data.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for remotely monitoring and diagnosing a device includes: a first network coupled to the device and configured to obtain a measurement of a parameter of the device and generate an encrypted code from the obtained measurement; and a second network separate from the first network by a non-network medium and configured to obtain a copy of the encrypted code from the first network over a non-network medium, wherein the second network is configured to decode the copy of the encrypted code to monitor and diagnose the device.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a system for securely monitoring and diagnosing of a device includes: an interface of a first network that generates a signal indicative of a measured value of a parameter of the device; and a detector of a second network, the detector separated from the interface by an air gap and configured to receive the signal from the interface over the air gap, wherein the second network is configured to monitor and diagnose the device using the signal received at the detector.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
The present disclosure provides a system and method of remote monitoring and diagnosis of a device at a customer location that inhibits or reduces security risks of a remote location from affecting the customer location, such as reducing the possibility of the customer location receiving viruses and/or hacking from the remote location. The system includes a first network at the customer location and a second network at the remote location that is separate from the first network. Data is transmitted from the first network to the second network via a non-network connection or non-network medium. In one embodiment, the non-network medium may be an optical medium such that data displayed at an interface of the first network is read by an optical scanner of the second network. In another embodiment, the non-network medium is an acoustic medium such that the data is transmitted by the first network as an acoustic signal and received at the second network using an acoustic receiver, such as a microphone. In various aspects, the non-network medium employs an air gap that separates or isolates the first network from the second network so that data is not transmittable from the second network to the first network and the first network, thereby protecting the first network from security risks of the second network.
While the invention is described with respect to a single sensor 108, it is to be understood that a plurality of sensors may be used to measure values of various parameters of the device 106. In addition, the processor 114 can use some or all of the measured values from the plurality of sensors when generating the encrypted code 160.
In various embodiments, the sensor 108 measures the values of the parameter and sends the measured values to the processor 114 at a selected sampling rate (e.g., every 5 seconds). The sampling rate may be controlled or selected by the processor 114. When the values are received, the processor 114 generates the encrypted code 160 from the value and displays the encrypted code 160 at the interface 120. Thus, the encrypted code is generated dynamically at the interface 120 and is refreshed or replaced at the interface 120 at a selected time interval (refresh rate) that can correspond to the sampling rate (e.g., every 5 seconds).
The customer location 102 further includes a detector 122. The detector 122 can be coupled to a diagnostic unit 140 at the remote location 104. The detector 122 reads the encrypted code 160 from the interface 120 to obtain a copy 161 of the encrypted code 160. The detector 122 then sends the copy 161 of the encrypted code 160 to the diagnostic unit 140 at the remote location 104.
The detector 122 can be connected to the remote location 104 via a continuous network connection or a non-continuous network connection. In an embodiment with a continuous network connection, the detector 122 can be coupled to an on-site server 130 that can be remotely managed from the remote location 104. The on-site server 130 is further coupled to a network connectivity device 132 at the customer location 102 that communicates with a network connectivity device 134 at the remote location 104 over a network connection 136. In an embodiment with a non-continuous network connection, the detector 122 can store the encrypted code 160 at a memory location within the detector 122. The detector 122 can then be retrieved to the remote location 104 and plugged into the remote location 104 for downloading of the encrypted code 160 from the detector 122. In another embodiment of a non-continuous network, the detector 122 or the remote location 104 can initiate a temporary communication channel and transfer the encrypted code 160 from the detector 122 to the remote location 104 over the temporary communication channel
In one embodiment, the encrypted code 160 is read from the interface 120 and into the detector 122 over an optical medium. In this embodiment, the encrypted code 160 is displayed visually at the interface 120, and the detector 122 is an optical scanner that reads the visually-displayed code. The encrypted code 160 can be displayed at a designated location of the interface 120 such as a lower right corner of the interface 120 as shown in
In various embodiments, the interface 120 and detector 122 are separated by an air gap or other non-network medium 150 that separates and/or isolates a first network of the customer location 102 from a second network of the remote location 104. Additionally, the interface 120 and detector 122 provide communication in only one direction across the air gap, i.e., from the customer location 102 to the remote location 104. Thus, the remote location 104 can receive measurements or data from the customer location 102 that may be used for diagnostics of the device 106 at the customer location 102, without providing access from the remote location 104 to the customer location 102. The non-network medium 150 isolates the local network 110 and control unit 112 of the customer location 102 from the remote location 104. Therefore, the customer location 102 avoids being susceptible to security risks at the remote location 104, such as the risk of receiving viruses or other undesired access from the remote location 104.
The remote location includes a diagnostic unit 140 that includes a processor 142, memory storage device 144 and programs 146. In one embodiment, the processor 142 of the diagnostic unit 140 uses the programs 146 to perform a decoding operation to decode the copy 161 of the encrypted code 160, thereby obtaining the measured values of the parameter of the device 106 at the remote location 104. The processor 114 at the remote location 104 can then diagnose the device 106 using the obtained measured values of the parameter. The measured values of the parameter or diagnostics performed on the measured values can be shown at display 148 or stored to the memory storage device 144. In various embodiments, the memory storage device 144 includes a non-transitory storage device, such as a solid-state memory or RAM.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.