Patent Publication Number: US-2015074271-A1

Title: Reporting the state of an apparatus to a remote computer

Description:
CLAIM TO PRIORITY 
     This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/627,201, filed on Jul. 28, 2000 in the name of James R. Hansen. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates to using a device embedded in an apparatus (an “embedded device”) to report the state of the apparatus to a remote computer. 
     An apparatus may contain an embedded device, such as a controller, to monitor and control its operation. Any type of apparatus may, have an embedded device, including, but not limited to, home appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers, and televisions, and manufacturing equipment, such as robotics, conveyors and motors. 
     Embedded devices are often connected to an internal network, such as a local area network (LAN), with an interface to the Internet. Other devices on the internal network may communicate with the embedded devices over the internal network. 
     SUMMARY 
     In general, in one aspect, the invention is directed to using a device embedded in an apparatus to report the state of the apparatus to a remote computer. This aspect of the invention features detecting the state of the apparatus, generating a message that reports the state of the apparatus using a self-describing computer language, and sending the message to the remote computer. An example of a self-describing computer language is eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Examples of messages that may be sent include an electronic mail (e-mail) message and a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) command, both containing XML code. 
     By virtue of the device-generated message, the remote computer can obtain the state of the apparatus even if the remote computer cannot directly address the embedded device. Thus, computers that cannot communicate directly with the embedded device, such as computers that are not on the same internal network as the embedded device, can still obtain the status of the apparatus. Moreover, because the state is reported using a self-describing computer language, the remote computer can interpret the state without the aid of a person. As a result, processes, such as maintenance and the like, can be scheduled automatically for the apparatus and/or embedded device by the remote computer. 
     This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The state is indicative of an error condition in the apparatus. The error condition is a variable that deviates from an acceptable value or a predetermined range of acceptable values. The function of detecting the state includes receiving the state from the apparatus by, e.g., retrieving the state periodically from the apparatus. The function of detecting the state includes obtaining an identifier for the apparatus, the identifier relating to the state of the apparatus, and using the embedded device to read the state from the apparatus using the identifier. 
     This aspect of the invention may also include determining if the state of the apparatus has changed. The message is generated if the state of the apparatus has changed and is not generated otherwise. The function of determining if the state of the apparatus has changed includes comparing the state received from the apparatus to a previous state of the apparatus. 
     The message is generated using a predefined template by obtaining one or more variables relating to the apparatus and inserting the one or more variables into the template. The state of the apparatus may be included as part of a body of an e-mail message or as part of an attachment to the e-mail message. The state of the apparatus may be included as part of an HTTP command. 
     In general, in another aspect, the invention is directed to obtaining a state of an apparatus from a device, such as a controller, embedded in the apparatus. This aspect of the invention features receiving a message that reports the state of the apparatus using a self-describing computer language and extracting the state of the apparatus from the message. 
     This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The self-describing computer language is XML. The state of the apparatus is indicative of an error condition in the apparatus. The error condition is a variable that deviates from an acceptable value or a predetermined range of acceptable values. The state of the apparatus is passed to a customer relationship management system. The message may be included in an HTTP command or may be part of an e-mail. 
     In general, in another aspect, the invention features a system that includes first and second devices. The first device includes circuitry that generates a message reporting a state of an apparatus using a self-describing computer language. The second device is in communication with the first device. The second device includes circuitry that receives the electronic mail message from the first device. 
     This aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The second device receives the message from the first device and extracts the state of the apparatus from the message. The first device is embedded in the apparatus and the second device is a remote computer. The message may be included in an HTTP command or may be part of an e-mail. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, including the claims and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a network containing a remote computer and an apparatus having an embedded device; 
         FIG. 2  shows the format of a tag used to store state variables for the apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is flowchart of a process performed by the embedded device to report the state of the apparatus to the remote computer; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an alternative process performed by the embedded device to report the state of the apparatus to the remote computer; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a process performed by the remote computer to interpret messages received from the embedded device; and 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a network containing a remote computer and an apparatus having an embedded device the reports on the state of the apparatus using HTTP commands. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a network  10 . Network  10  includes an apparatus  11  containing an embedded device  17 , such as a controller (e.g., a microprocessor). Apparatus  11  is connected to an internal network  12 , such as a LAN. A router or modem  14  interfaces internal network  12  to an external network  15 , such as the Internet, that runs TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) or some other suitable protocol. Connections may be, e.g., via Ethernet, wireless link, or telephone line. External network  15  contains remote computer  16 , which may be a server, a personal computer (PC), or any other type of processing device. Other devices (not shown) may be included on internal network  12  and external network  15 . 
     Processing in the Embedded Device 
     Apparatus  11  may be any type of device or may be included in any system having functions that are monitored and controlled by embedded device  17 . Among other things, embedded device  17  executes software stored in memory  19  to generate and send, to remote computer  16 , an e-mail message reporting the state of apparatus  11 . 
     Software  20  includes an OPC (OLE for Process Control) server program  21 , an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) processor program  24 , and an e-mail program  25 . E-mail program  25  is an SMTP-compliant (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) program for sending e-mail from embedded device  17  to Internet addresses and for receiving e-mail from the Internet. E-mail program  25  operates as a mail transfer agent (MTA) for e-mail messages arriving at embedded device  17  and a mail delivery agent (MDA) for e-mail messages originating from embedded device  17 . Other mail transfer protocols and programs may be also used by embedded device  17  in addition to, or instead of, those noted above. 
     XML processor program  24  is a program for generating XML code that reports the state of apparatus  11 . XML is a self-describing computer language that defines variables and values relating to those variables. XML is self-describing in the sense that fields in the XML code identify variables and their values in the XML code. The template for XML used to generate an e-mail is as follows:
         &lt;name&gt;temperature&lt;/name&gt;&lt;value&gt;&lt;##temperature##&gt;&lt;/value&gt;,
 
where the “name” field identifies the name of a variable and the “value” field identifies the value of the variable that follows the “name” field. So, for the example given above, the variable is “temperature” and a value (e.g., 33.8) may be inserted for that variable as follows:
   &lt;name&gt;temperature&lt;/name&gt;&lt;value&gt;33.8&lt;/value&gt;.
 
XML processor program  24  generates XML code having the above syntax from a tag database  22  stored in memory  19 .
       

     Tag database  22  contains tags for use by XML processor program  24  in generating XML code.  FIG. 2  shows an example of a format for a tag  26 , although other formats may be used. Tag  26  contains a name field  27 , a description field  29 , a value field  30 , a time stamp field  31 , and an item identifier (ID) field  32 . These fields are used to obtain, identify and store information relating to apparatus  11 . 
     Name field  27  holds the name of a state variable for apparatus  11 , such as “temperature”, and description field  29  provides further identification information, such as “temperature of fluid in a tank”. Value field  30  holds the value of the state variable and time stamp field  31  holds the time that the value in value field  30  was obtained. Value field  30  may include a variant, which is a construct that holds the value as an integer, a real number, a boolean, a character string, or some other type. Item ID field  32  holds an identifier that corresponds to hardware that is being monitored within apparatus  11 . The identifier corresponds to a register location or to some other storage area of apparatus  11  that contains the value for field  30 . For example, if embedded device  17  is in a robotics system, item ID field  32  might correspond to a register in the robotics system that contains a velocity or position of a robotic arm. 
     OPC server program  21  reads item IDs from field  32  and uses those item IDs to read variable values from corresponding hardware storage areas  34 . OPC server program  21  implements an industrial automation protocol, such as MODBUS TCP, to communicate with the apparatus hardware. The system is not limited to use with the MODBUS protocol or with OPC server program  21 ; any drivers or computer programs may be used to read the state variable values from the hardware. Once a state variable value has been read, OPC server program  21  inserts the variable value into field  30  of the appropriate tag. 
       FIG. 3  shows a process  36  for reporting the state of apparatus  11  to remote computer  16  using e-mail. In this embodiment, process  36  is implemented by OPC server program  21 , XML processor program  24 , e-mail program  25 , and system software (not shown) executing in embedded device  17 . The system software may include an operating system or other programs that control the background operation of embedded device  17 . 
     Process  36  detects ( 301 ) the state of apparatus  11 . The state may be indicative of an error condition (described below) within apparatus  11  or it may simply be state variables of apparatus  11  that are obtained at a particular time. To detect the state of apparatus  11 , OPC server program  21  polls the hardware in apparatus  11  periodically. To perform this polling, OPC server program  21  obtains ( 301   a ) an item ID from tag database  22  and reads ( 301   b ) the value of a state variable that corresponds to the item ID from the appropriate hardware storage location. Process  36  may report the value to the remote computer as is or, alternatively, process  36  may use the value to identify and report an error condition in the hardware. A process for reporting error conditions is described below. 
     Process  36  generates ( 302 ) an e-mail message reporting the value of state variable(s) for apparatus  11 . Specifically, XML processor program  24  retrieves both the name of each state variable and the value of the state variable from the appropriate tag(s) in tag database  22 . Other variables may also be retrieved from tag database  22  including the time stamp, description, and whatever other variables are stored in tag database  22 . Which information is retrieved is pre-set in XML processor program  24 . The retrieved variables are used by XML processor program  24  to generate XML code for an e-mail to remote computer  16 . 
     XML processor program  24  may generate the XML code “on the fly”, meaning without the use of a template. In this case, a blank XML file is populated with the retrieved variables in XML format by XML processor program  24 . Alternatively, XML processor program  24  may generate the XML code using a pre-defined and formatted template. The template may be obtained by XML processor program  24 , e.g., from memory  19  or a remote storage location (not shown). For example, the template may contain formatting similar to that shown above, namely:
         &lt;name&gt;temperature&lt;/name&gt;&lt;value&gt;&lt;##temperature##&gt;&lt;/value&gt;.
 
To generate the XML code from the template, XML processor program  24  scans through the template and inserts state variable value(s) retrieved from tag database  22 , where appropriate. XML processor program  24  may generate the XML code periodically, depending upon how often e-mails are to be sent to the remote computer. Alternatively, tag manager software (not shown) may be included to provide newly-received tag variables to XML processor program  24 . In this case, XML processor program  24  generates the XML code when it receives the new tag variables.
       

     The resulting XML code may be part of the body of an e-mail or it may part of an attachment to an e-mail. The e-mail also contains a unique identifier, such as a code (e.g., serial number or identifier), that identifies embedded device  17  to remote computer  16 . E-mail program  25  obtains the XML code from XML processor program  24  and sends it to remote computer  16  as part of the e-mail message. E-mail program  25  obtains the code periodically, depending upon the frequency at which e-mails are to be sent to the remote computer. The frequency is set beforehand in embedded device  17 . The address of the remote computer may be registered with e-mail program  25  beforehand. Typically, the address/remote computer will be that of an entity that requires information about apparatus  11 . For example, the entity may be a manufacturer of the apparatus, a plant monitoring system, or the like. The e-mail program sends the message to router/modem  14 , which transfers it via external network  15  to remote computer  16 . Then, the e-mail message is processed as described below. 
     The foregoing describes the case where embedded device  17  simply reports the state of apparatus  11  to remote computer  16  periodically. Alternatively, embedded device  17  may report the state to remote computer  16  only when an error condition or “alarm” is detected. 
       FIG. 4  shows a process  40  by which embedded device  17  detects error conditions in apparatus  11  and sends an e-mail message to remote computer  16  when an error condition is detected. Process  40  detects ( 401 ) the state of apparatus  11 , where, as above, “state” refers to tag variable values for apparatus  11 . Detection ( 401 ) is performed in the same manner as process  36 ; therefore, a description is omitted here. Once process  36  has obtained the state of apparatus  11 , process  36  determines ( 402 ) if that state represents an error condition. 
     To detect an error condition, process  40  may compare an obtained state variable value to a predetermined acceptable value or a range of predetermined acceptable values. If the state variable value is outside the range of, or deviates considerably from, the acceptable value(s), then process  40  knows that an error condition is present. Alternatively, process  40  may store each state variable value in memory  19  as it is obtained, and compare each newly-received state variable value to one or more stored state variable values. If the new state variable value deviates by more than a predetermined amount from the stored value(s), process  40  knows that an error condition is present/has occurred. 
     An error condition may be based on a single state variable value or it may be based on some combination of two or more state variable values. For example, if embedded device  17  is in manufacturing equipment that monitors both a level of fluid in a tank and a temperature of that fluid, an error condition may only be present if both the fluid level and the temperature exceed preset values. In this example, therefore, if only one state variable exceeds its corresponding preset value, then no error condition is present/has occurred. 
     If process  40  detects ( 402 ) an error condition, process  40  generates ( 403 ) an e-mail message and sends ( 404 ) the e-mail message to remote computer  16 . The functions of generating and sending an e-mail message are performed as described above with respect to process  36 ; therefore, detailed descriptions are omitted here. When generating the e-mail message, e-mail program  25  may place the state variable(s) that caused the error condition in the “subject” line of the e-mail. If process  40  does not detect ( 402 ) an error condition, an e-mail message is not sent, whereafter process  40  returns to  401 . 
     XML processor program  24  may maintain a log of error conditions in memory  19 . This error condition “history” may be provided along with each new e-mail message. The history may relate to a particular state variable or to more than one state variable. For example, if the error condition pertains to temperature, XML processor program  24  may include the error condition history for temperature in the e-mail. If the error condition pertains to both temperature and tank level, XML processor program  24  may include the error condition history for both temperature and tank level in the e-mail. If a template is used to generate the e-mail message, portion(s) of that template may be reserved for error condition history. 
     Processes  36  and  40  can be combined to generate an e-mail periodically that reports the state of apparatus  11  to remote computer  16  even if no error conditions have been detected in apparatus  11 , and that also flags any error conditions if any have been detected. XML processor program  24  adds an indicator or the like next to state variable values that correspond to error conditions. 
     Processes  36  and  40  may be executed by embedded device  17  to monitor and report on any type of state variables in any type of apparatus. For example, processes  36  and  40  may detect state variable values relating to conveyor belt speed, current and/or voltage in electronic devices, tank fluid levels, input/output sensors, and the like. 
     Processes  36  and  40  may detect state variable values through a programmable logic controller (PLC) that is connected to one or more other devices. A PLC includes plug-in cards for each device that obtain and store device state variable values. OPC server program  21  communicates with these plug-in cards to obtain the device state variable values for generating e-mails as described above. 
     E-mails generated by processes  36  and  40  report the state of apparatus  11  using a self-describing computer language, such as XML; however, other types of self-describing computer languages may be used. In addition, other text and/or images may be included in the e-mails, if desired and appropriate under the circumstances. Described below is a process that is performed by remote computer  16  to interpret e-mails received from embedded device  17 . 
     Processing in the Remote Computer 
     Remote computer  16  contains a controller  41  for executing software stored in memory  42 . Among this software is e-mail program  44 , XML parser  45 , and customer relationship management (CRM) system software  46 . 
     As in embedded device  17 , e-mail program  44  is an SMTP-compliant program for receiving e-mail from embedded device  17  and other such devices. E-mail program  44  operates as a mail transfer agent (MTA) for e-mail messages arriving at remote computer  16  and a mail delivery agent (MDA) for e-mail messages originating from remote computer  16 . E-mail program  44  uses the same protocol as e-mail program  25  in embedded device  17 . 
     XML parser  45  parses XML code in a received e-mail to extract variable values, including an identifier for apparatus  11 . XML parser  45  recognizes field names, such as “name” and “value” from above and extracts corresponding state variable values from those fields. That is, XML parser  45  knows the syntax of XML. Knowing this, XML parser  45  is able to extract variable names from the “name” fields, corresponding variable values from the “value” fields, and any other information in the XML code. 
     XML parser  45  passes the state variable values, along with appropriate identifiers, to customer relationship management system software  46  or whatever other software or database requires/uses those state variable values. 
       FIG. 5  shows how an e-mail from embedded device  17  is processed ( 43 ). Once an e-mail has been received ( 501 ) from embedded device  17 , XML parser  45  extracts ( 502 ) the state variable values of apparatus  11  from the e-mail. For example, XML parser  45  may extract tank levels, temperature values, etc., of apparatus  11  monitored by embedded device  17 . The state variable values may be indicative of error conditions in apparatus  11 , as defined above, or simply state variables for apparatus  11  obtained at a given point in time. 
     XML parser  45  passes ( 503 ) the state variable values, i.e., the state of apparatus  11 , to customer relationship management system software  46 . Customer relationship management system software  46  uses these state variable values, e.g., to schedule maintenance for apparatus  11  if necessary, to provide software upgrades to apparatus  11 , or for any other purpose. Because the XML code in the e-mail is readable by XML parser  45 , reporting and scheduling by customer relationship management system software  46  can be done automatically. It is noted that e-mail program  44  may still forward an e-mail to a customer representative, technician, or the like, particularly if an e-mail contains human-readable text. 
     The software on remote computer  16  is not limited to that shown in  FIG. 1 . For example, XML parser  45  may be replaced by a parser that is capable of parsing/reading other types of computer code, depending upon the code that is used in the received e-mail. Likewise, the parsed variables can be passed to software other than customer relationship management system software  46 . For example, the variables can be stored in a database  47  for later use. 
     Alternative Embodiment 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a network  60  is shown on which an alternative embodiment of the invention is implemented. Network  60  is identical to network  10 , except that e-mail program  25  in apparatus  11  is replaced by Web client  61  and e-mail program  44  in remote computer  16  is replaced by Web server  62 . This alternative configuration allows embedded device  17  to transfer messages to remote computer  16  as HTTP commands rather than emails. 
     The HTTP command may be an HTTP POST command, although other HTTP commands, such as an HTTP GET command, may instead be used. An example of an HTTP POST command that uses XML code to report the status of a fictitious “widget” apparatus is as follows: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 POST /CONTROL HTTP/1.1 
               
               
                 Host: www.acme.com 
               
               
                 Content-Type: text/xml 
               
               
                 Content-length: nnn 
               
               
                 &lt;?xml version=“1.0”?&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;root xmlns=“urn:schemas-upnp-org:device-1-0”&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;specVersion&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;major&gt;1&lt;/major&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;minor&gt;0&lt;/minor&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;/specVersion&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;device&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;deviceType&gt;urn:www-acme- 
               
               
                 com:device:Widget:3&lt;/deviceType&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;friendlyName&gt;Widget&lt;/friendlyName&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;manufacturer&gt;Acme Industries&lt;/manufacturer&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;modelName&gt;Widget&lt;/modelName&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;modelNumber&gt;3&lt;/modelNumber&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;serialNumber&gt;53266D&lt;/serialNumber&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;UDN&gt;uuid:4A89EA70-73B4-11d4-80DF-0050DAB7BAC5&lt;/UDN&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;/device&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;/root&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;parameters&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;Airflow xsd:type=“integer”&gt;378&lt;/Airflow&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;Humidity xsd:type=“double”&gt;46.7&lt;/Humidity&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;Motor xsd:type=“integer”&gt;1500&lt;/Motor&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;Vent xsd:type=“integer”&gt;4&lt;/Vent&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;/parameters&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;alarms&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;Temperature&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;description&gt;Room temperature is above 
               
               
                 83F&lt;/description&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;severity&gt;300&lt;/severity&gt; 
               
               
                   &lt;status&gt;high&lt;/status&gt; 
               
               
                  &lt;/Temperature&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;/alarms&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     XML is a self-describing computer language in the sense that fields in the XML code identify variables and their values in the XML code. For example, as shown in the above POST command, the “manufacturer” field identifies a manufacturer, e.g., “Acme Industries”, and is delineated by “&lt;manufacturer&gt;” to indicate the start of the field and “&lt;/manufacturer&gt;” to indicate the end of the field. XML is used in the HTTP command because it can be generated, parsed and read relatively easily by XML parser  45 . 
     The HTTP POST command includes data identifying apparatus  11 . This data includes, but is not limited to, data identifying the type of the device, a common (or “friendly”) name for the device, the manufacturer of the device, the model name of the device, the model number of the device, the serial number of the device, and a universal unique identifier (UUID) for the device. In the example post command, this data is formatted as: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 &lt;friendlyName&gt;Widget&lt;/friendlyName&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;manufacturer&gt;Acme Industries&lt;/manufacturer&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;modelName&gt;Widget&lt;/modelName&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;modelNumber&gt;3&lt;/modelNumber&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;serialNumber&gt;53266D&lt;/serialNumber&gt; 
               
               
                 &lt;UDN&gt;uuid:4A89EA70-73B4-11d4-80DF-0050DAB7BAC5&lt;/UDN&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The HTTP POST command also provides the state of apparatus  11 . The state includes operational parameters and alarm conditions for apparatus  11 . In the above HTTP POST command, these are formatted as follows: 
                                            &lt;parameters&gt;            &lt;Airflow xsd:type=“integer”&gt;378&lt;/Airflow&gt;            &lt;Humidity xsd:type=“double”&gt;46.7&lt;/Humidity&gt;            &lt;Motor xsd:type=“integer”&gt;1500&lt;/Motor&gt;            &lt;Vent xsd:type=“integer”&gt;4&lt;/Vent&gt;           &lt;/parameters&gt;           &lt;alarms&gt;            &lt;Temperature&gt;             &lt;description&gt;Room temperature is above           83F&lt;/description&gt;             &lt;severity&gt;300&lt;/severity&gt;             &lt;status&gt;high&lt;/status&gt;            &lt;/Temperature&gt;           &lt;/alarms&gt;                        
Thus, the state of the widget includes information on its airflow, humidity, motor and vent settings, temperature, severity of the temperature, and temperature status. Different information from that shown may be included in the HTTP POST command.
 
     Referring back to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 , in this embodiment the operation of processes  36 ,  40  and  43  is identical to that described above, except that, in all steps, the e-mail message is replaced by an HTTP command. In apparatus  11 , the HTTP command is generated by Web client  61  based on data provided by XML processor  24 . This XML data is the same as that used above with e-mail program  25 . Embedded device  17  sends the HTTP command to remote computer  16 , where it is received by Web server  62  and then processed by XML parser  45 . Thereafter, processing proceeds as above. 
     Architecture 
     Processes  36 ,  40  and  43  are not limited to use with the hardware/software configuration of  FIG. 1 ; they may find applicability in any computing or processing environment. Processes  36 ,  40  and  43  may be implemented in hardware (e.g., an ASIC {Application-Specific Integrated Circuit} and/or an FPGA {Field Programmable Gate Array}), software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
     Processes  36 ,  40  and  43  may be implemented using one or more computer programs executing on programmable computers that each includes a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and one or more output devices. 
     Each such program may be implemented in a high level procedural or object-oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. Also, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language. The language may be a compiled or an interpreted language. 
     Each computer program may be stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., CD-ROM, hard disk, or magnetic diskette) that is readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage medium or device is read by the computer to perform processes  36 ,  40  and  43 . 
     Processes  36 ,  40  and  43  may also be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where, upon execution, instructions in the computer program cause the computer to operate in accordance with processes  36 ,  40  and  43 . 
     Other embodiments not described herein are also within the scope of the following claims. For example, e-mail or http messages sent from apparatus  11  to remote computer  16  may be queued (e.g., stored in memory  19 ) and then retrieved and sent out at a later time. Queuing messages reduces message loss resulting from intermittent system failures.