Wireless sensor system with dynamic heartbeat message rate

• US 10,356,494 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2015
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Corbin, Scott Alan, Humenay, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Zhen Y
• Application Number:
  US15/343,489
• Publication Number:
  US 20180227649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 34087007
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• 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: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks

Abstract

A wireless sensor system includes a wireless sensor node with a sensor interface that interfaces with sensing circuitry, a wireless interface to communicate with a wireless access point, at least one processor, and memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the wireless sensor node to set a heartbeat message rate to a first heartbeat message rate. Heartbeat messages are sent periodically at the first heartbeat message rate, and sensor data are acquired through the sensor interface. The heartbeat message rate increases to a second heartbeat message rate based on a determination that the sensor data have been acquired and are ready to transmit. The sensor data are transmitted in one or more heartbeat messages at the second heartbeat message rate until all sensor data have been transmitted, then the heartbeat message rate is returned to the first heartbeat message rate.

Claims

1. A wireless sensor system comprising a wireless sensor node, the wireless sensor node comprising:

a sensor interface that interfaces with sensing circuitry;

a wireless interface to communicate with a wireless access point;

at least one processor; and

memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the wireless sensor node to;

set a heartbeat message rate of the wireless sensor node to a first heartbeat message rate;

send heartbeat messages periodically on the wireless interface to the wireless access point at the first heartbeat message rate;

acquire sensor data through the sensor interface, the sensor data being stored in a data buffer;

increase the heartbeat message rate to a second heartbeat message rate based on a determination that the data buffer is full;

transmit the sensor data in one or more heartbeat messages on the wireless interface to the wireless access point at the second heartbeat message rate until all of the sensor data have been transmitted; and

lower the heartbeat message rate back to the first heartbeat message rate based on a determination that all of the sensor data in the data buffer have been transmitted,

wherein the heartbeat messages sent at the first heartbeat message rate comprise status information and the one or more heartbeat messages sent at the second heartbeat message rate comprise the status information and the sensor data.

2. The wireless sensor system of claim 1, wherein the heartbeat messages sent at the first heartbeat message rate comprise status information and the one or more heartbeat messages sent at the second heartbeat message rate comprise the status information and the sensor data.

3. The wireless sensor system of claim 2, wherein the status information comprises a status of a power supply of the wireless sensor node.

4. The wireless sensor system of claim 3, wherein the wireless sensor node reduces the second heartbeat message rate based on a determination that a power level of the power supply is below a low power operation threshold.

5. The wireless sensor system of claim 1, further comprising a second wireless sensor node, wherein the second wireless sensor node transmits sensor data at a third heartbeat message rate that is greater than the first heartbeat message rate.

6. The wireless sensor system of claim 5, wherein the first heartbeat message rate, the second heartbeat message rate, and the third heartbeat message rate are configurable by a server operably coupled to the wireless access point.

7. The wireless sensor system of claim 5, wherein the wireless sensor node interfaces with a first type of the sensing circuitry and the second wireless sensor node interfaces with a second type of the sensing circuitry that has a different sampling rate than the first type of the sensing circuitry.

8. The wireless sensor system of claim 1, wherein the wireless sensor node monitors a communication error rate with respect to the wireless access point and reduces the second heartbeat message rate based on detection of an increased communication error rate.

9. The wireless sensor system of claim 1, wherein the wireless sensor node is configurable to communicate with the wireless access point at a rate greater than the first heartbeat message rate for wireless sensor node firmware update transmissions.

10. A method of dynamic heartbeat message rate adjustment in a wireless sensor system, the method comprising:

setting a heartbeat message rate of a wireless sensor node to a first heartbeat message rate;

sending heartbeat messages periodically from the wireless sensor node to a wireless access point at the first heartbeat message rate;

acquiring sensor data at the wireless sensor node, the sensor data being stored in a data buffer;

increasing the heartbeat message rate to a second heartbeat message rate based on determining that the data buffer is full;

transmitting the sensor data in one or more heartbeat messages from the wireless sensor node to the wireless access point at the second heartbeat message rate until all of the sensor data have been transmitted; and

lowering the heartbeat message rate back to the first heartbeat message rate based on a determination that all of the sensor data in the data buffer have been transmitted.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the heartbeat messages sent at the first heartbeat message rate comprise status information and the one or more heartbeat messages sent at the second heartbeat message rate comprise the status information and the sensor data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless sensor node reduces the second heartbeat message rate based on a determination that a power level of the power supply is below a low power operation threshold.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting sensor data from a second wireless sensor node to the wireless access point at a third heartbeat message rate that is greater than the first heartbeat message rate, wherein the first heartbeat message rate, the second heartbeat message rate, and the third heartbeat message rate are configurable by a server operably coupled to the wireless access point.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the wireless sensor node interfaces with a first type of sensing circuitry and the second wireless sensor node interfaces with a second type of sensing circuitry that has a different sampling rate than the first type of sensing circuitry.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

monitoring a communication error rate with respect to the wireless access point; and

reducing the second heartbeat message rate based on detecting an increased communication error rate.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

resuming sending the heartbeat messages periodically from the wireless sensor node to the wireless access point at the first heartbeat message rate subsequent to the heartbeat message rate being lowered back to the first heartbeat message rate.