Radiobeacon data sharing by forwarding low energy transmissions to a cloud host

• US 10,063,331 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2018
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PB, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PB, Inc.
• Inventors: Daoura, Daniel J, Pearson-Franks, Nicholas R
• Primary Examiner(s): Sobutka, Philip
• Application Number:
  US15/863,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20180131455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 235 Days
• Field of Search: 455 7- 25
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Remote actuation of machines or machine systems is realized by a system for coupling a radiobeacon to a smart device and in turn to a broader network. The smart device is configured as a proximity-actuated “community nodal device” by an application that operates as part of the system. The community nodal device is given instructions to function as a “soft switch”: to automatically “upswitch”, amplify, and broadcast low energy, local area radiobeacon “messages” to a cloud-based server, where the message is interpreted according to rules or policies established by an operator, and a command is transmitted for execution to a remote device. Conventional smart devices generally discard data not addressed to the owner of the smart device. Instead of discarding third party messages, the system preempts their handling, and using a soft switch formed from background resources, anonymously, without access to the message by a user interface of the proxy device, and without waiting for a network query from the host, engineers an “upswitched transmission” of radiobeacon-generated data to a cloud host. Advantageously, confidential sharing of ad hoc community resources results in a negligible load on background resources of the community nodal device. Messages may include a sensor data payload. Bit overloading enables a sensor data payload to be compressed into a few hundred bytes or less.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium holding program instructions, said program instructions when executed by a computing circuit of a multi-featured community nodal device in response to receipt from a radiobeacon of a radio message having a digital identifier and a sensor data payload, cause the receiving community nodal device to perform the operations of:

(i) if the received message from a radiobeacon is addressed to the registered owner of the receiving community nodal device, then by the receiving device, routing the message contents to a graphical user interface through foreground resources of the receiving device;

(ii) if the received message from a radiobeacon is not addressed to the registered owner of the receiving device, then by the receiving device, routing the message contents through background resources of the receiving device so as to upswitchedly transmit the message contents to an administrative server as a shared community service; and

,

(iii) if the received message from a radiobeacon is not addressed to the registered owner of the receiving community nodal device, then by the receiving device, blocking access, storage or display of the message contents on the receiving device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving community nodal device to perform the operation of:

(i) if the registered owner of the receiving device is unresponsive, then routing the message contents through background resources of the receiving device so as to upswitchedly transmit the message contents to an administrative server for further processing according to instructions associated with a registered owner'"'"'s user profile.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving community nodal device to perform the operation of:

(i) if an identifier belonging to a community of members is identified in a message from a radiobeacon, then routing the message contents through background resources of the receiving device so as to upswitchedly transmit the message contents to an administrative server for further processing according to instructions associated with the community of members.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving device to perform the operation of:

(i) if no identifier belonging to a registered owner or a community of members is identified in a message from a radiobeacon, then dumping the message without a record thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving community nodal device to perform the operations of:

(i) releasing any shared resources of the receiving device used to upswitchedly transmit the message contents back to the registered owner of the receiving device without a record thereof.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving device to perform operations selected from:

(i) adding a timestamp;

(ii) adding a geostamp;

(iii) adding an IP address of an administrative server;

or,

(iv) any combination of the above operations.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause the receiving device to perform the operations of:

(i) assembling a soft switch in the receiving device from communications, hardware, and background resources built into the receiving device, wherein said soft switch is configured to retransmit messages received from a radiobeacon;

(ii) upon receipt of a radiobeacon signal, adding an IP address, amplifying and retransmitting the message contents to an administrative server according to permissions granted by an owner of the receiving device; and

,

(iii) disassembling the soft switch after use without a record thereof.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said program instructions cause a community nodal device to display a graphical user interface configured to enter user-programmed rules and commands into a user profile of a database on the administrative server.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said program instructions cause a community nodal device to forward a sensor data payload to an administrative server and to receive a notification or command in response thereto.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said sensor data payload is a switch position and said notification or command is associated with a user profile on an administrative server in receipt of the sensor data payload.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said sensor data payload is a location, a direction, a velocity, an acceleration, a temperature, or a radio signal strength.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said sensor data payload is selected from light intensity, smoke, voltage, low battery level, sound, audio pattern, displacement, humidity, pressure, radiation, button-press event, compass direction, traffic level, noise level, NOX level, vibration, vehicle performance, biological agent, biochemical agent, chemical agent, windspeed, location, global positioning, proximity, relative radio signal strength, radio traffic, or other environmental conditions.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said notification or command is an alert, an alarm sound, a buzz, or a flashing light.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said program instructions cause the community nodal device to process radio signal strength of a radiobeacon signal having a unique identifier as an indication of proximity and to issue a notification or command according to rules and privileges entered by a user.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein an indication of proximity is operated to track or find an article associated with a radiobeacon signal having a unique identifier.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein an indication of proximity is shared on an administrative server by a community of users and is used to track or find an article associated with a radiobeacon signal having a unique identifier.

17. A computing machine configured as cloud host for an application, said machine comprising:

a) an administrative server operatively connected to a distribution server, said distribution server having a copy of said application for distribution to a community of users, wherein said application comprises a digital instruction set such that when copied to, installed and executed by a computing circuit of a multi-featured smart device, is configured to cause the device to perform the operations of a community nodal device for a community of users, said operations comprising;

(i) listening for a radiobeacon signal from a radiobeacon, said radiobeacon signal having message contents comprising a digital radio signal identifier and a sensor data payload;

(ii) receiving a radiobeacon signal by a receiving device, structuring a soft switch in the receiving device from communications, hardware, and background resources built into the receiving device, wherein said soft switch is configured to upswitchedly transmit radiobeacon signals to said administrative server according to permissions granted by an owner of the receiving device;

(iii) upon receipt of a radiobeacon signal, adding an IP address, amplifying and upswitchedly transmitting the message contents to said administrative server;

(iv) releasing any computing resources used in assembling the soft switch when an upswitched transmission is completed; and

b) further characterized in that radiobeacon signals addressed to said owner of said community nodal device are displayed on a graphical user interface of the receiving device, whereas radiobeacon signals addressed to another member of said community of users are upswitchedly transmitted without display, storage, or any record thereof on the receiving device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set programmable on said device to preselect and activate a feature or a condition of a feature on a device according to rules and privileges in a memory on the smart device.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set is programmable on said community nodal device to preselect and activate a feature or a condition of a feature on said device according to a user profile.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set is programmable on a community nodal device to preselect and activate a feature or a condition of a feature on said device according to a digital value of a sensor data payload extracted by said device or by said administrative server from a message contents.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set is configured to be executed in a sleep mode on a smart device and to wake up said device if a radiobeacon signal is received.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said administrative server comprises an administrative database of digital radio signal identifiers associated with one or more community nodal devices and one or more radiobeacons associated with one or more members of said community of users, including user profiles of any owners thereof.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said digital instruction set, executed by a processor of a receiving community nodal device in response to receipt of a radio message having a digital identifier and a sensor data payload from a radiobeacon, is configured to associate a radio signal identifier in a radiobeacon signal with a community nodal device or a radiobeacon of an owner in said administrative database;

and said administrative server is configured to trigger an executable feature of said device according to programmable rules and selections associated with a user profile of a registered owner when the message contents of said radiobeacon signal are upswitchedly transmitted to said administrative server.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein said administrative server is configured to operate a subscriber service.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said digital instruction set is programmable on a community nodal device to set up rules and privileges associated with a user profile of a registered owner such that when said message contents of a radiobeacon signal are upswitchedly transmitted to said administrative server by said device and said message contents are extracted, a triggerable feature of a remote device is executed.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said digital instruction set is configured to bitwise extract overloaded bits from a radiobeacon signal and to trigger a programmable feature according to the sensor data payload.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said triggerable feature or operation is selectable from:

(i) making a notification or a display on a user interface of a smart device,

(ii) waking up a program or a hardware component of a smart device;

(iii) storing a sensor data input or a series of sensor data inputs decoded from a series of radiobeacon signals;

(iv) aggregating sensor data inputs from a plurality of radiobeacon signals;

(v) mapping a sensor data input or a series of sensor data inputs on a virtual map and displaying said virtual map on a smart device;

(vi) activating or deactivating a permission on a smart device;

(vii) forwarding a radiobeacon signal according to rules established by an owner;

(viii) causing an action on a smart device;

(ix) causing a remote device to take an action;

(x) setting an alert;

(xi) triggering an alarm, or,

(xii) a combination thereof.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said distribution server is configured to transmit a copy of said digital instruction set to one or more smart devices operated by one or more member of said community of users.

29. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set causes the receiving community nodal device to perform operations selected from:

(i) adding a timestamp;

(ii) adding a geostamp;

(iii) adding an IP address of said administrative server;

or,

(iv) any combination of the above operations.

30. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set causes the receiving community nodal device to perform operations selected from:

(i) assembling a soft switch in the receiving device from communications, hardware, and background resources built into the receiving device, wherein said soft switch is configured to retransmit messages received from a radiobeacon;

(ii) upon receipt of a radiobeacon signal, adding an IP address, amplifying and retransmitting the message contents to an administrative server according to permissions granted by an owner of the receiving device; and

,

(iii) disassembling the soft switch after use without a record thereof.

31. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set is configured to cause said community nodal device to perform operations selected from:

(i) displaying a graphical user interface configured to enter user-programmed rules and commands into a user profile of a database on the administrative server;

(ii) recording user data entries into a user profile; and

,

(iii) storing a user profile on said community nodal device or on an administrative server associated therewith.

32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said digital instruction set is configured to cause said community nodal device to perform operations selected from

forwarding a sensor data payload to said administrative server;

and,

receiving a notification or command in response thereto.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said sensor data payload is a switch position and said notification or command is associated with a user profile on said administrative server.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said sensor data payload is a location, a direction, a velocity, an acceleration, a temperature, or a radio signal strength.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said sensor data payload is selected from light intensity, smoke, voltage, low battery level, sound, audio pattern, displacement, humidity, pressure, radiation, button-press event, compass direction, traffic level, noise level, NOX level, vibration, vehicle performance, biological agent, biochemical agent, chemical agent, windspeed, location, global positioning, proximity, relative radio signal strength, radio traffic, or other environmental conditions.

36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said notification or command is an alert, an alarm sound, a buzz, or a flashing light.

37. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein said said digital instruction set is configured cause said community nodal device to perform operations selected from:

(i) processing a radio signal strength of a radiobeacon signal having a unique identifier as an indication of proximity; and

,

(ii) issuing a notification or command according to rules and privileges entered by a user.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein an indication of proximity is processed to track or find an article associated with a radiotag having a unique identifier.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein an indication of proximity is shared on said administrative server by a community of users and is used to track or find an article associated with a radiotag having a unique identifier.

40. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said administrative server is configured to operate a subscriber service.