Smart mesh electrical socket
First Claim
1. A smart-mesh socket comprising:
- a bottom cap connector that includes a first Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector;
a smart-mesh circuit that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap connector and that includes;
a main circuit with one or more processing units and one or more memory components; and
multiple wireless circuits that support multiple wireless communication protocols, wherein one or more of the multiple wireless circuits each includes a transceiver to send and receive communications via a mesh network that includes a plurality of smart-mesh sockets and using at least one of a wireless broadband long-term evolution (LTE) communication protocol or a wireless narrow-band internet-of-things (NB-IoT) communication protocol,wherein the one or more memory components store software instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processing units, cause the smart-mesh socket to participate in the mesh network and to participate in providing aggregated functionality from the plurality of smart-mesh sockets; and
a top socket including a second USB connector that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap USB connector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are described for providing a smart-mesh socket. The smart-mesh socket may be sized and shaped to be engaged with a conventional electrical socket of one or more types (e.g., a USB receptacle providing DC electrical power) to provide power to one or more circuits housed within the smart-mesh socket. These circuits may include, for example, a main circuit that includes at least a dual processor for controlling the operation and communications of at least two communication circuits. The dual processors may execute instructions for an operating system, thus allowing the smart-mesh socket to provide enhanced capabilities for networked devices. One or more first communication circuits may each include one or more transceivers that allow the first communication circuit to send and receive communications with other devices over wireless network(s) using one or multiple wireless communication protocols.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A smart-mesh socket comprising:
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a bottom cap connector that includes a first Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector; a smart-mesh circuit that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap connector and that includes; a main circuit with one or more processing units and one or more memory components; and multiple wireless circuits that support multiple wireless communication protocols, wherein one or more of the multiple wireless circuits each includes a transceiver to send and receive communications via a mesh network that includes a plurality of smart-mesh sockets and using at least one of a wireless broadband long-term evolution (LTE) communication protocol or a wireless narrow-band internet-of-things (NB-IoT) communication protocol, wherein the one or more memory components store software instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processing units, cause the smart-mesh socket to participate in the mesh network and to participate in providing aggregated functionality from the plurality of smart-mesh sockets; and a top socket including a second USB connector that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap USB connector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system with a plurality of smart-mesh sockets, each smart-mesh socket within the plurality comprising:
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a bottom cap connector having a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug that is sized and shaped to be electrically coupled with a USB receptacle; and a smart-mesh circuit that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap connector and that includes; a main circuit with one or more processing units and one or more memory components; and one or more wireless circuits that support multiple wireless communication protocols and that include one or more transceivers to send and receive communications with other smart mesh sockets of the plurality via a mesh network, wherein the one or more memory components store software instructions that, when executed by at least one of the two or more processing units, cause the smart-mesh socket to participate in the mesh network with the plurality of smart-mesh sockets and to participate in providing functionality distributed across the plurality of smart-mesh sockets via interactions between the plurality of smart-mesh sockets, and wherein the providing of the functionality distributed across the plurality of smart-mesh sockets includes at least some of the plurality of smart-mesh sockets being configured to track a user device as the user device moves within separate areas covered by respective smart-mesh sockets of the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system with a plurality of smart-mesh sockets, each smart-mesh socket within the plurality comprising:
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a bottom cap connector having a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug that is sized and shaped to be electrically coupled with a USB receptacle; and a smart-mesh circuit that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap connector and that includes; a main circuit with one or more processing units and one or more memory components; and one or more wireless circuits that support multiple wireless communication protocols and that include one or more transceivers to send and receive communications with other smart mesh sockets of the plurality via a mesh network, wherein the one or more memory components store software instructions that, when executed by at least one of the two or more processing units, cause the smart-mesh socket to participate in the mesh network with the plurality of smart-mesh sockets and to participate in providing functionality distributed across the plurality of smart-mesh sockets via interactions between the plurality of smart-mesh sockets, wherein at least some smart-mesh sockets are each associated with a mechanical system and has capabilities to receive and implement instructions to modify operations of the associated mechanical system via a specified type of operation that manipulates an environment around the associated mechanical systems, and wherein the interactions between the plurality of smart-mesh sockets includes sending first instructions to each of the at least some smart-mesh sockets to cause the smart-mesh socket to control the associated mechanical system to perform the specified type of operation. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A computer-implemented method comprising:
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receiving, by at least some smart-mesh sockets from a plurality of smart-mesh sockets participating in a mesh network, instructions to implement one or more specified types of operations in a distributed manner by the at least some smart-mesh sockets; and providing, by the at least some smart-mesh sockets based at least in part on interactions between the at least some smart-mesh sockets, and in response to the receiving of the instructions, functionality distributed across the at least some smart-mesh sockets to implement the one or more specified types of operations, wherein the providing of the functionality distributed across the at least some smart-mesh sockets includes the at least some smart-mesh sockets being configured to track location of a user device as the user device moves within separate areas covered by respective smart-mesh sockets of the mesh network, and wherein each of the at least some smart-mesh sockets includes a bottom cap connector having a Universal Serial Bus (USB) plug that is sized and shaped to be electrically coupled with a USB receptacle, and further includes a smart-mesh circuit that is electrically coupled to the bottom cap connector and that has a main circuit with one or more processing units and one or more memory components and that supports multiple wireless communication protocols and that include one or more transceivers to send and receive communications with other smart mesh sockets of the plurality via the mesh network. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification