Wireless sensor network

• US 10,297,128 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Rasband, Paul B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US15/402,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20170148293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 340541, 34087002, 340531, 370469
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/027 Frames
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/00 Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/22 Electrical actuation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2451 Specific applications combined with EAS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2491 Intrusion detection systems, i.e. where the body of an intruder causes the interference with the electromagnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/062 indicating emergency exits
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/74 Address processing for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• 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 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements

Abstract

A networked system for managing a physical intrusion detection/alarm includes an upper tier of server devices, comprising: processor devices and memory in communication with the processor devices, a middle tier of gateway devices that are in communication with upper tier servers, and a lower level tier of devices that comprise fully functional nodes with at least some of the functional nodes including an application layer that execute routines to provide node functions, and a device to manage the lower tier of devices, the device instantiating a program manager that executes a state machine to control the application layer in each of the at least some of the functional nodes.

Claims

1. A networked sensor system comprises:

an upper tier of server devices, the server devices comprising;

processor devices; and

memory in communication with the processor devices;

a middle tier of gateway devices that are in communication with one or more of the upper tier server devices, the gateway devices comprising;

processor devices; and

memory in communication with the processor devices; and

a lower level tier of devices that comprise;

a first group of sensor nodes that are fully functional sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding gateway devices, with at least some of the fully functional sensor nodes including an application layer that executes routines to provide node sensor functions and an application layer manager to manage the application layer in the at least some of the fully functional nodes, wherein the application layer manager uses an edge device operating system that allows for loading and execution of individual functions after booting of the device or without rebooting the device; and

a second group of sensor nodes that are constrained sensor nodes with the constrained sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding fully functional nodes in the lower level tier of devices.

2. The networked system of claim 1, wherein the fully-functional nodes are sensor nodes that include wireless devices and the constrained nodes are sensors for a physical intrusion detection/alarm monitoring system.

3. The networked system of claim 1, wherein the gateway devices include an access node point to provide a network connection point for the corresponding single hop network layer connections, and wherein a function node that is physically attached to that access point provides a wireless connection point to the constrained sensor nodes.

4. The networked system of claim 1, wherein the application layer includes a state machine comprised of sets of functions that execute in coordination, where functions are individually deleted, or substituted, or added to alter states in the state machine.

5. The networked system of claim 1, wherein the application layer manager receives requests from state functions and in response handles pass-offs of functions currently operating to destination functions.

6. The networked system of claim 5, wherein the application layer manager accesses a transition table that stores a central descriptor for the state functions.

7. The networked system of claim 1, wherein the application layer manager is firmware and is isolated from other firmware modules in the lower tier devices.

8. A method of managing a networked sensor system comprised of an upper tier of server devices, a middle tier of gateway devices, and a lower level tier of sensor devices, the method comprising:

monitoring processed data at the upper tier of server devices;

receiving by the middle tier of gateway devices that are in communication with the upper tier servers, sensor data from the lower level tier of sensor devices from fully functional nodes that have direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding gateway devices in the middle tier;

receiving raw data from constrained sensor nodes, in the lower level tier, with the constrained sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding fully functional nodes in the lower level tier of devices; and

managing loading and executing of one or more functions by an application layer running on at least some of the nodes of the lower level tier;

coordinating changes between the one or more functions of the application layer by an application layer manager running on at least some of the nodes of the lower level tier, wherein the application layer manager uses an edge device operating system that allows for loading and execution of individual functions after booting of the device or without rebooting the device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fully-functional nodes are sensor nodes that include wireless devices, and the constrained nodes are sensors for a physical intrusion detection/alarm monitoring system.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the application layer is comprised of a state machine executing the one or more functions in coordination, where the one or more functions are individually deleted, or substituted, or added to alter states in the state machine.

11. The gateway devices of claim 8, wherein the gateway devices include an access node point to provide a network connection point for the corresponding single hop network layer connections, and wherein a functional node that is physically attached to that access point provides a wireless connection point to the constrained sensor nodes.

12. The application layer manager of claim 8, wherein the application layer manager receives requests from state functions and in response handles pass-offs of functions currently operating to destination functions.

13. The application layer manager of claim 8, wherein the application layer manager accesses a transition table that stores a central descriptor for the state functions.

14. The application layer manager of claim 8, wherein the application layer manager is firmware and is isolated from other firmware modules in the lower tier devices.

15. A system of sensor nodes comprising:

a first group of sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding gateway devices;

a second group of sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to the first group of sensor nodes;

an application layer running on at least some of the sensor nodes, wherein the application layer allows for loading and execution of one or more functions;

an application layer manager running on at least some of the sensor nodes, wherein the application layer manager receives requests from state functions and in response handles pass-offs of functions currently operating to destination functions;

a transition table, accessed by the application layer manager, that stores a central descriptor for the state functions.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the fully functional sensor nodes are sensor nodes that include wireless devices and the constrained sensor nodes are sensors for a physical intrusion detection/alarm monitoring system.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the application layer includes a state machine comprised of a set of functions that execute in coordination, where functions are individually deleted, or substituted, or added to alter states in the state machine.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the application layer uses an edge device operating system that allows for loading and execution of individual functions after booting of the sensor device or without rebooting the sensor device.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the application layer manager is firmware and is isolated from other firmware modules in the set of sensor devices.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the fully functional sensor nodes are connected to one or more gateway devices, wherein the one or more gateway devices include an access node point to provide a network connection point for the corresponding single hop layer connections, and wherein the fully functional sensor nodes are physically attached to that access point to provide a wireless connection point to the constrained sensor nodes.

21. A networked sensor system comprises:

an upper tier of server devices;

a middle tier of gateway devices configured to communicate with one or more of the upper tier server devices; and

a lower level tier of sensor devices comprising;

a first group of sensor nodes having direct single hop network layer connections to corresponding gateway devices, with at least some of the first group of sensor nodes comprising an application layer configured to execute routines to provide sensor node functions and an application layer manager to manage the application layer in the at least some of the first group of sensor nodes, wherein the application layer manager is configured to load and execute individual functions without rebooting the device.