System for integrated remote control of wireless lighting device and wireless electric and electronic devices in wireless network environment

• US 10,327,314 B1
• Filed: 06/25/2018
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merlot Laboratories, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Merlot Laboratories, Inc.
• Inventors: Shin, So-Bong, Choi, Won-Jae, Song, Yong-Chul, Park, Sang-Yeol
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kaiser, Syed M
• Application Number:
  US16/016,856
• Time in Patent Office: 358 Days
• Field of Search: 315291, 315294, 315224, 315307
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/44 Star or tree networks
• 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 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light

Abstract

Disclosed is a system for integrated remote control of wireless lighting devices and wireless electric/electronic devices in a wireless network environment. In the wireless network environment, a management server transmits a lighting control command and a device control command for individually driving and controlling wireless lighting devices and wireless electric/electronic devices to the wireless lighting devices on a main wireless node (i.e., first wireless node) over a communication network. Therefore, a user can wirelessly and remotely drive and control various wireless electric/electronic devices as well as wireless lighting devices through the management server without time and place constrains.

Claims

1. A system for integrated remote control of wireless lighting devices and wireless electric/electronic devices in a wireless network environment, the system comprising:

a management server configured to simultaneously transmit a lighting control command and a device control command;

a first wireless nodes connected to the management server through a communication network, each first node being configured to receive and analyze the lighting control command and the device control command transmitted from the management server, to generate a lighting control signal and a device control signal that are separate and independent signals for individually driving and controlling at least one wireless lighting device and at least one electric/electronic device, thereby individually driving and controlling each of the wireless lighting devices, and to wirelessly transmit the device control signal for each of the wireless electric/electronic devices;

a second wireless node constructing a wireless network by wirelessly connecting to the first wireless node, performing data processing so as to communicate data with the first wireless nodes, and including a wireless communication devices connected to each other in a short-range wireless communication manner; and

the wireless electric/electronic device configured to wirelessly receive the device control signal wirelessly transmitted from the first wireless node so as to be driven and controlled based on the received device control signal,

wherein the first wireless node comprises a first hub device having unique node identification information and performing data processing to enable data communication between heterogeneous wireless nodes;

the second wireless node comprises a second hub device having unique node identification information and performing data processing to enable data communication with the first wireless nodes, and one or more wireless communication devices connected to each other in a short-range communication manner; and

the management server is connected to the first hub device of the first wireless node through the communication network and is configured to receive information of each of the wireless communication devices connected to the second hub device of the second wireless node via the first hub device of the first wireless node and to store and manage the received information in a database form for each of the wireless communication devices.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the management server generates an information collection command for acquiring information of each of the wireless communication devices connected to the second wireless node, and transmits the generated information collection command for the each of the wireless communication devices to the first hub device of the first wireless node through the communication network by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device;

the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the information collection command transmitted from the management server for each of the wireless communication devices, converts the information collection into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the resulting information collection command in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, to the second hub device of the second wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the second hub device; and

the second hub device of the second wireless node receives the transmitted information collection command in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, from the first hub device of the first wireless node, converts the received the information collection command into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting information collection command in the short-range wireless communication protocol format, for each of the wireless communication devices, to a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein each of the wireless communication devices connected to the second hub device of the second wireless node performs receiving the information collection command transmitted from the second hub device of the second wireless node, collecting information data thereof, based on the information collection command, converting the collected information data thereof into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmitting the information data in the short-range wireless communication protocol format to the second hub device of the second wireless node;

wherein the second hub device of the second wireless node performs receiving information data of each of the wireless communication devices collected by and transmitted from each of the wireless communication devices, converting the information data into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmitting the information data of each of the wireless communication devices in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format to the first hub device of the first wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device; and

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the information data of each of the wireless communication devices, which is wirelessly transmitted from the second hub device of the second wireless node, converts the received information data into a predefined communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting information data in the predefined communication protocol format to the management server through the communication network.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the management server generates a control command for controlling each of the wireless communication devices connected the second wireless node, and transmits the control command for each of the wireless communication devices to the first hub device of the first wireless node through the communication network by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device;

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the control command for controlling each of the wireless communication devices, which is transmitted from the management server, converts the control command into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, wirelessly transmits the resulting control command for controlling each of the wireless communication devices, which is in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, to the second hub device of the second wireless node by using the unique node identification of the second hub device; and

wherein the second hub device of the second wireless node receives the control command for each of the wireless communication devices, which is in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format and is wirelessly transmitted, from the first hub device of the first wireless node, converts the control command into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, transmits the resulting control command for each of the wireless communication devices, which is in the short-range wireless communication protocol format, to a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein each of the wireless communication devices connected to the second hub device of the second wireless node receives the control command for a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices transmitted from the second hub device of the second wireless node, performs control on the corresponding one of the wireless communication devices, based on the received control command, generates a control completion message thereof, converts the control completion message into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting control completion message in the predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format to the second hub device of the second wireless node;

wherein the second hub device of the second wireless node receives the control completion message generated by and transmitted from each of the wireless communication devices, converts the control completion message into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the control completion message for each of the wireless communication devices in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format to the first hub device of the first wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device; and

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the control completion message of each of the wireless communication devices, which is wirelessly transmitted from the second hub device of the second wireless node, converts the control completion message into a predefined communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting control completion message in the communication protocol format to the management server through the communication network.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising one or more third wireless nodes, each third wireless node comprising a third hub device having unique identification information and performing data processing to enable data exchange between heterogeneous wireless nodes and one or more wireless communication devices connected to each other in a short-range wireless communication manner,

wherein the management server generates control commands for controlling the respective wireless communication devices connected to the third wireless node, transmits the control commands for controlling the respective wireless communication devices connected to the third wireless node, to the first hub device of the first wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device,

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the control commands for controlling the respective wireless communication devices transmitted from the management server, converts the control commands into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the resulting control commands for the respective wireless communication devices to the third hub device of the third wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the third hub device, and

wherein the third hub device of the third wireless nodes receives the control commands for the respective wireless communication devices, which are in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format and are transmitted from the first hub device of the first wireless node, converts the resulting control commands into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the control commands in the short-range wireless communication protocol format, to the corresponding wireless communication devices.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein each of the wireless communication devices connected to the third hub device of the third wireless nodes receives the control command for a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices from the third hub device of the third wireless node, performs control based on the received control command, generates a control completion message thereof based on the received control command, converts the control completion message into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting control completion message in the short-range wireless communication protocol format to the third hub device of the third wireless nodes,

wherein the third hub device of the third wireless nodes receives the control completion message generated by and transmitted from each of the wireless communication devices, converts the control completion message for each of the wireless communication devices into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the resulting control completion message in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format of each of the wireless communication devices to the first hub device of the first wireless node by using the unique node identification information of the first hub device,

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the control completion message of each of the wireless communication devices, wirelessly transmitted from the third hub device of the third wireless node, converts the control completion message into a predefined communication protocol format, and transmits the control completion message to the management server through the communication network.

8. The system according to claim 6, wherein the management server generates an information collection command for acquiring information of each of the wireless communication devices connected to the third wireless node, and transmits the generated information collection command for each of the wireless communication devices to the first hub device of the first wireless node through the communication network by using the unique identification information of the first hub device,

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the information collection command for each of the wireless communication devices transmitted from the management server, converts the received information collection commands into a predefined heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the resulting information collection commands in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format for the wireless communication devices, to the third hub device of the third wireless nodes by using the unique node identification information of the third hub device,

wherein the third hub device of the third wireless nodes receives the information collection command in the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format for each of the wireless communication devices, converts the received information collection commands into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the resulting information collection commands in the short-range wireless communication protocol format for each of the wireless communication devices, to a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein each of the wireless communication devices connected to the third hub device of the third wireless, receives information collection command for a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices from the third hub device of the third wireless node, collects information data thereof when the wireless communication device itself corresponds to the received information collection command, based on the received information collection commands for each of the wireless communication devices, converts the collected information data of each of the wireless communication devices into a predefined short-range wireless communication protocol format, and transmits the collected information in the short-range wireless communication protocol format to the third hub device of the third wireless nodes,

wherein the third hub device of the third wireless nodes receives the information data of each of the wireless communication devices collected by and transmitted from each of the wireless communication devices, converts the received information data into a heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, and wirelessly transmits the information data, having the heterogeneous wireless node communication protocol format, of each of the wireless communication devices, to the first hub device of the first wireless node by using the unique identification information of the first hub device, and

wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node receives the information data of each of the wireless communication devices wirelessly transmitted from the third hub device of the third wireless node, converts the information data into a predefined communication protocol, and transmits the information data resulting from the conversion, to the management server through the communication network.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first hub device of the first wireless node includes a first node processor having unique node identification information and performing data processing to enable data communication between heterogeneous wireless nodes, and

wherein the second hub device of the second wireless node includes a second node processor wirelessly connected to the first node processor of the first wireless node for data communication and having unique node identification information, and a device connection processor connected to the second node processor in a wired or wireless manner and performing wireless connection between the wireless communication devices in a short-range wireless communication manner.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the second node processor and the device connection processor communicate with each other using a standard on-board peripheral interface.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein a communication protocol for communication between the first hub device of the first wireless node and the management server is implemented by a wireless Internet protocol (IP) via at least one wireless access point (AP) or a gateway.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication network is a wireless communication network selected from the group consisting of WiFi for provision of high-speed multimedia transmission service, WiGig, wireless broadband internet (Wibro), and world interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), or is a cellular-based wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), or is a mobile communication network selected among a 3G network, an LTE network, a 4G network, and a 5G network.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the short-range wireless communication is performed by a short-range wireless communication selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth, ZigBee, Beacon, radio frequency identification (RFID), ultra wideband (UWB), and infrared radiation communication.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless network is configured with a wireless mesh network (WMN).

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the unique node identification information comprises unique node identification that is preliminarily allocated.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the wireless communication devices connected to the second hub device of the second wireless node comprises an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the IoT sensor comprises a sensor selected from the group consisting of a stereoscopic image sensor, an infrared thermal image sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a dust sensor, a smoke sensor, a illuminance sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, an ozone sensor, a ultrasonic sensor, a motion sensor, a lighting sensor, a household appliance, a door lock, and a illuminance sensor.

19. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the wireless lighting devices of the first wireless node comprises:

an LED lighting module for emitting light to the outside using at least one light emitting diode (LED) lighting device;

an IR generating module for emitting an infrared radiation (IR) signal to the outside using at least one infrared radiation (IR) emitting device;

an LED driving module for driving each of the light emitting diode (LED) lighting devices of the LED lighting module;

an IR driving module for driving each of the infrared radiation (IR) emitting devices of the IR generating module;

a communication module for wirelessly receiving the device control command and the lighting control command transmitted from the management server; and

a control module for receiving and analyzing the lighting control command and the device control command wirelessly transmitted from the communication module and separately generating and outputting the lighting control signal and the device control signal for independently and individually driving and controlling each of the wireless lighting devices and each of the wireless electric/electronic devices, based on the received lighting control command and the device control command.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the LED driving module comprises:

a pulse width modulation (PWM) generator for generating a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal corresponding to the lighting control command transmitted from the management server under the control of the control module; and

an LED driver for applying a direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) driving power so that a corresponding LED lighting devices is turned on and off and a brightness of the corresponding LED lighting devices is adjusted according to the pulse width modulation (PWM) signal generated by the PWM generator.

21. The system according to claim 19, wherein the IR driving module comprises:

an IR modulator for modulating the device control command transmitted from the management server into an IR modulated signal according to the control of the control module; and

an IR driver for applying a driving power according to the IR modulated signal output from the IR modulator such that a corresponding one of the IR light emitting devices is turned on and off according to the IR modulated signal.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the IR modulator converts the device control command into the IR modulated signal having an infrared radiation (IR) code of a specific pattern in accordance with an existing communication channel standard.

23. The system according to claim 1, wherein when transmitting the lighting control command through the management server, the management server transmits unique identification information of a corresponding one of the wireless lighting devices together with the lighting control command, wherein the unique identification information of the wireless lighting device selected from the group consisting of a name, password, serial number, type, manufacturer, media access control (MAC) address, unique Internet protocol (IP) address, model, and version of the wireless lighting device, and authentication information of the wireless lighting device generated by using a secrete key of the wireless lighting device or a PKI-based private key.

24. The system according to claim 1, wherein when the device control command is transmitted through the management server, unique device identification information of a corresponding wireless electric/electronic devices is transmitted along with the device control command, wherein the unique device identification information is selected from the group consisting of a name, password, serial number, type, manufacturer, MAC address, IP address, model, and version of the wireless electric/electronic device, and authentication information of the wireless electric/electronic device generated by using a private key of the wireless electric/electronic device or a PKI-based private key.

25. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless terminal configured to wirelessly transmit the lighting control command and the device control command to the management server,

wherein the wireless terminal is selected from the group consisting of a smart phone, a smart pad, a smart note, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based wireless communication device.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein when the wireless terminal is a mobile communication terminal selected from the group consisting of the smart phone, the smart pad, and the smart note, the lighting control command and the device control command are wirelessly transmitted by a lighting and device control application pre-installed in the mobile communication terminal.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein when the lighting control command and the device control command are transmitted through the wireless terminal, unique terminal identification information of the wireless terminal is transmitted along with the lighting control command and the device control command,

wherein the management server compares the unique terminal identification information transmitted through the wireless terminal and unique terminal identification information that is preset, when both pieces of the unique terminal identification information match, the management server transmits the lighting control command and the device control command to the first wireless node,

wherein the unique terminal identification information of the wireless terminal is selected from the group consisting of a name, password, serial number, type, manufacturer, media access control (MAC) address, unique Internet protocol (IP) address, model, and version of the wireless terminal, and authentication information of the wireless terminal generated by using a private key of the wireless terminal or a PKI-based private key.

28. The system according to claim 26, wherein the terminal identification information preset in the management server is preliminarily set by the wireless terminal and stored in a separate database,

the wireless terminal transmits a request message for requesting setting of the terminal identification information along with the unique device identification information of the corresponding wireless lighting device,

the management server receives the unique device identification information of one of the wireless lighting devices transmitted from the wireless terminal and the request message for requesting setting of the terminal identification information, compares the unique device identification information of the wireless lighting device stored therein with the received unique device identification information, and transmits a synchronization signal to the wireless terminal when the received information and the stored information match, and

the wireless terminal receives the synchronization signal transmitted from the management server and synchronizes itself with the management server, and performs a information setting function by which the unique device identification of the wireless terminal is set and stored.

29. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless electric/electronic device is a home appliance selected having a wireless communication ability, the home appliance being selected from the group consisting of a TV, a computer, sound equipment, video equipment, an intercom, an air conditioner, an air purifier, an electric fan, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a rice cooker, a fan heater, a boiler, a microwave oven, and a vacuum cleaner.