Wireless building sensor system

• US 10,250,955 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2016
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Schwartz, David Eric, Daniel, George, Smith, Clinton, Elrod, Scott A., Greene, Daniel H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dsouza, Adolf
• Application Number:
  US15/352,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20180139517A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/30 Velocity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/50 Air quality properties
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/20 using microwaves or radio frequency waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/88 Providing power supply at the sub-station
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A system of sensor nodes is combined with an RF hub that transmits RF power to the sensors and receives data therefrom. The sensor nodes contain: one or more sensors for measuring indoor conditions, an antenna, an energy storage element, and electronics for powering the system via harvesting RF energy, reading sensor data, and communicating sensor data. The sensors, antenna, and other components on the nodes can be fabricated conventionally, or via printing. They may be fabricated as “flexible hybrid electronics”, in which conventional components are bonded onto flexible substrates. The RF hub consists of one or more antennas capable of transmitting RF power electronics for steering the center of radiation of the RF power in at least one direction or in more than one direction electronics for receiving a demodulating RF data signal. The RF hub may be powered directly from the building.

Claims

1. A wireless system for measuring indoor building conditions comprising:

a remote RF hub within a building, the remote RF hub having a plurality of programmable multi-element antennas configured to transmit RF power within the building, and a processor configured to beam steer a center of radiation of a power signal through the multi-element antennas; and

a plurality of sensor nodes positioned at locations within the building to receive the power signal so as to be powered by the remote RF hub, the plurality of sensor nodes configured to send and receive building data, wherein a location of each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes in the indoor building is automatically determined by at least one of (i) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit RF power data that is used by the RF hub to automatically determine the location of each sensor node of the plurality of the sensor nodes by comparing received power levels corresponding to different beam directions, and (ii) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit power back to the RF hub with information about an amount of power being transmitted, wherein by comparing the received power through different combinations of the multiple antennas the RF hub is configured to automatically determine the direction from which the each of the sensor nodes are transmitting power,

and wherein distances between the RF hub and each of the sensor nodes can be determined with a comparison of the transmitted and received power either from the RF hub to the each of the sensor nodes or from each of the sensor nodes to the RE hub.

2. The wireless system of claim 1, further including a processor configured to beam steer the center of radiation of the RF power to automatically locate each of the plurality of sensor nodes.

3. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensor nodes are peel and stick sensor nodes which convert RF power received from the RF hub to DC power.

4. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensor nodes includes:

logic circuitry configured to control power to the sensor node using harvested RF energy and to read and transmit sensor data;

at least one antenna; and

one or more sensors with an onboard energy storage device for powering the sensor via harvested RF power, and electronic circuitry for reading building data from the sensor.

5. The wireless system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sensor nodes includes an encoded room identification number (ID), the room ID providing additional information regarding the room to the building management including building mapping using room IDs assigned during installation, wall mapping, and localization data to determine wall locations.

6. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the RF hub comprises:

one or more antennas capable of transmitting RF power;

a processor configured to beam steer the center of radiation of the RF power in at least one direction or in more than one direction to transmit a power signal through an antenna;

a transmitter configured to transmit power to the one or more sensors and to a building management system; and

a transceiver configured to receive and demodulate an RF data signal and sensor data from the sensor nodes.

7. The wireless system of claim 6, wherein the processor configured to beam steer is used to automatically locate each sensor node.

8. The wireless system of claim 6, wherein steering of the RF power is configured by selectively coupling one or more of a set of antennas to a transceiver.

9. The wireless system of claim 6, wherein steering of the RF power is configured via a phased-array antenna.

10. The wireless system of claim 6, wherein the RF hub receives sensor data and transmits the sensor data to a building management system for use in a building efficiency improvements.

11. The wireless system of claim 1, wherein the steering direction is in both horizontal and vertical directions.

12. A plurality of wireless sensor nodes powered by centralized RE power for measuring indoor building conditions of a building comprising:

at least one antenna configured to receive the centralized RF power in the form of a power signal from a remote RF hub located within the building, the remote RF hub having a plurality of programmable multi-element antennas configured to transmit the centralized RF power in the form of a power signal, and a processor of the remote RF hub configured to beam steer a center of radiation of the power signal through the multi-element antennas;

one or more sensors; and

a processor for each of the plurality of sensor nodes configured to;

control power to the sensor node via harvested RF energy;

read sensor data of a corresponding sensor; and

communicate sensor data, wherein the plurality of sensor nodes are positioned at locations within the building to receive the power signal so as to be powered by the remote RF hub,

wherein a location of each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes in the indoor building is automatically determined by at least one of (i) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit RF power data that is used by the RF hub to automatically determine the location of each sensor node of the plurality of the sensor nodes by comparing received power levels corresponding to different beam directions, and (ii) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit power back to the RF hub with information about an amount of power being transmitted, wherein by comparing the received power through different combinations of the multiple antennas the RF hub is configured to automatically determine the direction from which the each of the sensor nodes are transmitting power,

and wherein distances between the RF hub and each of the sensor nodes can be determined with a comparison of the transmitted and received power either from the RF hub to the each of the sensor nodes or from each of the sensor nodes to the RF hub.

13. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of sensor nodes includes:

an onboard energy storage device for powering the sensor via harvested RF power;

a receiver for receiving building data; and

a transmitter for sending sensor data.

14. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 13, wherein the onboard energy storage device is one of a capacitor, a supercapacitor, or rechargeable battery.

15. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 12, wherein the one or more sensors measures building conditions including at least one or more of humidity, temperatures, air flow speed, air flow direction, CO2 concentration, CO concentration, methane concentration, formaldehyde concentration, VOC concentration, or particulates.

16. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of the sensor nodes modulates an RF signal with sensor value data and transmits the modulated signal.

17. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 16, wherein the modulated RF signal is an incoming signal and transmission is based on backscatter.

18. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of sensor nodes transmits data indicating the received RF power level.

19. The plurality of wireless sensor nodes of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of sensor nodes transmits a unique identifying number or a non-unique identifying number.

20. The plurality of wireless sensor node of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of sensor nodes and at least one antenna is fabricated conventionally, or via printing and wherein the printed one or more sensors and at least one antenna may be fabricated as flexible hybrid electronics, wherein conventional components are bonded onto flexible substrates.

21. A method for measuring indoor building conditions, the method comprising:

transmitting power from an RF hub, within a building, to one or more sensor nodes located in the building, the remote RF hub having a plurality of programmable multi-element antennas configured to transmit RF power within the building, and a processor configured to beam steer a center of radiation of a power signal through the multi-element antennas; and

receiving power in the form of a power signal, on the one or more sensor nodes from the RF hub, the sensor nodes including;

at least one antenna;

one or more sensors configured to transmit building conditions; and

a processor configured to read building conditions from the one or more sensors and transmit to the RF hub, wherein the one or more sensor nodes are at locations within the building positioned to receive the power signal so as to be powered by the remote RF hub, the one or more sensor nodes configured to send and receive building data,

wherein a location of each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes in the indoor building is automatically determined by at least one of (i) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit RF power data that is used by the RF hub to automatically determine the location of each sensor node of the plurality of the sensor nodes by comparing received power levels corresponding to different beam directions, and (ii) configuring each sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes to transmit power back to the RF hub with information about an amount of power being transmitted, wherein by comparing the received power through different combinations of the multiple antennas the RF hub is configured to automatically determine the direction from which the each of the sensor nodes are transmitting power,

and wherein distances between the RF hub and each of the sensor nodes can be determined with a comparison of the transmitted and received power either from the RF hub to the each of the sensor nodes or from each of the sensor nodes to the RF hub.