Patent ID: 7984184
Filing Date: 2011-07-19
Classification: E02F,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of managing information exchanges in an outdoor worksite with an office on said outdoor worksite, said outdoor worksite comprising any one of a civil engineering worksite, a landscaping worksite, a road or rail link construction worksite or a mining worksite, by networked items of apparatus which perform tasks in connection with said outdoor worksite and which receive and/or send data, the method using an electronic data network comprising management means cooperating with a plurality of communications interfaces, a given said networked item of apparatus having a data link with a specified communications interface, said networked items of apparatus comprise networked mobile items of apparatus and networked fixed items of apparatus, each networked mobile item of apparatus and networked fixed item of apparatus being capable of communication with any other networked mobile and fixed item of apparatus within communication range of its communications interface, wherein all said networked items of apparatus are organized in a plurality of hierarchical levels according to a determined dependency relationship of the outdoor worksite, and in that said management means which includes a processor and memory and performs the method comprising the following acts: storing a correspondence between each said networked item of apparatus and an address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of that networked item of apparatus in said determined dependency relationship of the civil engineering, landscaping, road or rail link construction, or mining worksite in a database, the networked items of apparatus including the mobile items and fixed items of apparatus; operating by converting a first address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of a selected earth moving mobile networked item of apparatus into a corresponding first device address for accessing said selected earth moving mobile networked item of apparatus on said electronic data network; using that first device address to establish a communications link with said selected earth moving mobile networked item of apparatus, via its communications interface, in response to a first call for position coordinates addressed with an address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of said selected earth moving mobile networked item of apparatus; operating by converting a second address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of a selected fixed networked item of apparatus into a corresponding second device address for accessing said selected fixed networked item of apparatus on said electronic data network; using that second device address to establish a communications link with said fixed networked item of apparatus, via its communications interface, in response to a second call for position coordinates addressed with an address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of said selected fixed item of apparatus; wherein said address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of fixed or mobile items of apparatus includes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), said URL having a directory-path portion corresponding to said address structure reflecting the hierarchical position of said fixed or mobile selected item of apparatus; assigning a separate class/sub-class, in said hierarchical position, to items of apparatus as a function of whether they are fixed or mobile on the worksite; and wherein hierarchical positions of fixed or mobile items of networked apparatus are dynamically changeable based on the progress of the worksite, addition of one or more new items of apparatus to the worksite, and reassignment of one or more items of apparatus on the worksite.