Patents by Inventor James K. McKeever

James K. McKeever has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230342139
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for maintaining computer software of a supervisory control unit (SCU) of an industrial control system (ICS) configured to control equipment of a facility. The method includes capturing status information for the SCU and equipment that indicates at least performance of the SCU and the equipment, and connectivity of the SCU with the equipment. The method includes patching the computer software automatically to update, change, fix, or improve the computer software. The method includes capturing corresponding status information for the SCU and equipment and performing an audit of the ICS after the patch in which the status information and the corresponding status information are compared to identify any deviations in the performance or the connectivity of the equipment resulting from the patch. The method includes generating an audit report of the ICS that indicates any of the deviations that satisfy a reporting threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Publication date: October 26, 2023
    Inventors: Udhaya Kumar Dayalan, James K. McKeever
  • Patent number: 11726766
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for maintaining computer software of a supervisory control unit (SCU) of an industrial control system (ICS) configured to control equipment of a facility. The method includes capturing status information for the SCU and equipment that indicates at least performance of the SCU and the equipment, and connectivity of the SCU with the equipment. The method includes patching the computer software automatically to update, change, fix, or improve the computer software. The method includes capturing corresponding status information for the SCU and equipment and performing an audit of the ICS after the patch in which the status information and the corresponding status information are compared to identify any deviations in the performance or the connectivity of the equipment resulting from the patch. The method includes generating an audit report of the ICS that indicates any of the deviations that satisfy a reporting threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Trane International Inc.
    Inventors: Udhaya Kumar Dayalan, James K. McKeever
  • Publication number: 20230168878
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for maintaining computer software of a supervisory control unit (SCU) of an industrial control system (ICS) configured to control equipment of a facility. The method includes capturing status information for the SCU and equipment that indicates at least performance of the SCU and the equipment, and connectivity of the SCU with the equipment. The method includes patching the computer software automatically to update, change, fix, or improve the computer software. The method includes capturing corresponding status information for the SCU and equipment and performing an audit of the ICS after the patch in which the status information and the corresponding status information are compared to identify any deviations in the performance or the connectivity of the equipment resulting from the patch. The method includes generating an audit report of the ICS that indicates any of the deviations that satisfy a reporting threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 1, 2023
    Inventors: Udhaya Kumar Dayalan, James K. McKeever
  • Patent number: 6919809
    Abstract: A method of selecting a ventilation control strategy from among a plurality of ventilation control strategies. The method comprises the steps of: determining if a CO2 signal is present and valid; selecting a CO2 based ventilation control strategy if the CO2 signal is present and valid; selecting a second ventilation control strategy if the CO2 signal is not present or is invalid; and operating using the selected strategy. The selection step occurs in a zone controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: American Standard International Inc.
    Inventors: Brad M. Blunn, Tedd P. Johnson, Eugene R. Shedivy, James K. McKeever, Chad A. Bjorklund, Dwight J. Watercott