Radiobeacon data sharing by forwarding low energy transmissions to a cloud host
First Claim
1. A computing apparatus, which comprises:
- a) an administrative server having an IP address, said server having a memory with executable program instructions, wherein said server is enabled to access an administrative database, said database having records of device identifiers associated with a community of registered users, wherein users are defined by ownership of one or more smart devices and associated radiotags registered in said database, said users having each a user profile;
b) an application having an instruction set, wherein said instruction set when copied to, installed and operated on a smart device, is configured to enable a host smart device to send radio messages to and to receive radio messages from said administrative server;
further characterized in that said instruction set is configured to cause operations to be performed by an enabled smart device upon receipt of a low energy radiobeacon signal from a radiotag;
the operations comprising;
i) detecting a radiotag identifier in a received radiotag signal, wherein said radiotag identifier is either recognized or not recognized by ownership thereof according to ownership records accessible to said application; and
according to a logic rule;
ii) IF said radiotag identifier is recognizable by ownership, THEN executing an instruction in foreground services of a host smart device to generate a local notification or a command;
iii) IF said radiotag identifier is recognizable by ownership, AND IF an instruction cannot be executed in foreground services of a host smart device to generate a local notification or a command, THEN executing a command in background services of a host smart device to upswitchingly amplify and forward a received radiotag signal to said administrative server at said IP address, the amplified and forwarded signal with radiotag identifier defining a qualified radio message;
iv) IF said radiotag identifier is NOT recognizable by ownership, THEN in response to a received signal, executing an instruction in background services of a host smart device to upswitchingly amplify and forward a received radio signal to said administrative server at said IP address, the amplified and forwarded signal with radiotag identifier defining a qualified radio message; and
,c) by said administrative server,i) taking delivery of a qualified radio message;
ii) associating a radiotag identifier in a qualified radio message with a user profile in said administrative database; and
,iii) in response to a qualified radio message and any contents thereof, causing a wide area notification or a command to be generated and broadcast to a designated smart device or a community of smart devices according to a programmable rule or rules and permissions in a user profile or according to administrative server policies and permissions.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Remote actuation of machines or machine systems is realized by a system for coupling a radiobeacon to a smart device and in turn to a broader network. The smart device is configured as a proximity-actuated “community nodal device” by an application that operates as part of the system. The community nodal device is given instructions to function as a “soft switch”: to automatically “upswitch”, amplify, and broadcast low energy, local area radiobeacon “messages” to a cloud-based server, where the message is interpreted according to rules or policies established by an operator, and a command is transmitted for execution to a remote device. Conventional smart devices generally discard data not addressed to the owner of the smart device. Instead of discarding third party messages, the system preempts their handling, and using a soft switch formed from background resources, anonymously, without access to the message by a user interface of the proxy device, and without waiting for a network query from the host, engineers an “upswitched transmission” of radiobeacon-generated data to a cloud host. Advantageously, confidential sharing of ad hoc community resources results in a negligible load on background resources of the community nodal device. Messages may include a sensor data payload. Bit overloading enables a sensor data payload to be compressed into a few hundred bytes or less.
133 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A computing apparatus, which comprises:
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a) an administrative server having an IP address, said server having a memory with executable program instructions, wherein said server is enabled to access an administrative database, said database having records of device identifiers associated with a community of registered users, wherein users are defined by ownership of one or more smart devices and associated radiotags registered in said database, said users having each a user profile; b) an application having an instruction set, wherein said instruction set when copied to, installed and operated on a smart device, is configured to enable a host smart device to send radio messages to and to receive radio messages from said administrative server;
further characterized in that said instruction set is configured to cause operations to be performed by an enabled smart device upon receipt of a low energy radiobeacon signal from a radiotag;
the operations comprising;i) detecting a radiotag identifier in a received radiotag signal, wherein said radiotag identifier is either recognized or not recognized by ownership thereof according to ownership records accessible to said application; and
according to a logic rule;ii) IF said radiotag identifier is recognizable by ownership, THEN executing an instruction in foreground services of a host smart device to generate a local notification or a command; iii) IF said radiotag identifier is recognizable by ownership, AND IF an instruction cannot be executed in foreground services of a host smart device to generate a local notification or a command, THEN executing a command in background services of a host smart device to upswitchingly amplify and forward a received radiotag signal to said administrative server at said IP address, the amplified and forwarded signal with radiotag identifier defining a qualified radio message; iv) IF said radiotag identifier is NOT recognizable by ownership, THEN in response to a received signal, executing an instruction in background services of a host smart device to upswitchingly amplify and forward a received radio signal to said administrative server at said IP address, the amplified and forwarded signal with radiotag identifier defining a qualified radio message; and
,c) by said administrative server, i) taking delivery of a qualified radio message; ii) associating a radiotag identifier in a qualified radio message with a user profile in said administrative database; and
,iii) in response to a qualified radio message and any contents thereof, causing a wide area notification or a command to be generated and broadcast to a designated smart device or a community of smart devices according to a programmable rule or rules and permissions in a user profile or according to administrative server policies and permissions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for upswitching sensor and identification data contained in a low energy radio beacon transmission to a dedicated cloud host via at least one community nodal device intermediary in operative communication with a broad area network, the method comprising:
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a) providing one or more radiobeacons having a sensor or sensor package, a radio emitter with antenna, an encoder, a processor with supporting data processing circuitry, and memory for storing data and an instruction set to be executed by said processor, wherein said radiobeacon or radiobeacons are configured for emitting a low energy radio transmission that includes an owner unique identifier, a community unique identifier, and a sensor payload;
wherein said unique identifiers define a qualified radio signal, further wherein each said radio message is associated with a private owner of said radiobeacon, said owner being identifiable by said owner unique identifier, said owner belonging to a community of members;b) providing an application installable on a plurality of smart devices, wherein said smart devices are associated with said community of members;
wherein said application when installed on a smart device is capable of reconfiguring said smart device as a community nodal device and granting permission to use background resources of said community nodal device for;i) separating any said qualified radio signal from any unidentifiable signals, dumping said any unidentifiable signals, time stamping said qualified radio signal while disabling foreground disclosure thereof; ii) formatting said qualified radio signal as a radio message with an address to a dedicated cloud IP address associated with said community of members; iii) utilizing background resources for forward broadcast said radio message on a WAN or cellular network to said dedicated cloud IP address; and
,c) providing a cloud host, wherein said cloud host is capable of; i) parsing said qualified radio message to identify an owner of record and any sensor payload; ii) formulating a command or notification; iii) transmitting said command or notification over a broad area network to a community nodal device, to a remote machine, to a smart device, to an actuation device, or to a combination thereof.
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27. A system for upswitching sensor and identification data contained in a low energy radio beacon transmission to a dedicated cloud host via at least one community nodal device intermediary in operative communication with a broad area network, the system comprising:
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a) one or more radiobeacons having a sensor or sensor package, a radio emitter with antenna, an encoder, a processor with supporting data processing circuitry, and memory for storing data and an instruction set to be executed by said processor, wherein said radiobeacon or radiobeacons are configured for emitting a low energy radio transmission that includes an owner unique identifier, a community unique identifier, and a sensor payload;
wherein said unique identifiers define a qualified radio signal, further wherein each said radio message is associated with a private owner of said radiobeacon, said owner being identifiable by said owner unique identifier, said owner belonging to a community of members;b) an application installable on a plurality of smart devices, wherein said smart devices are associated with said community of members and said application is capable of operating upon a qualified radio signal from said one or more radiobeacons;
further wherein said application when installed on a smart device is capable of reconfiguring said smart device as a community nodal device and granting permission to use background resources of said community nodal device to;i) separate any said qualified radio signal from any unidentifiable signals, dumping said any unidentifiable signals, time stamping said qualified radio signal while disabling foreground disclosure thereof; ii) format said qualified radio signal as a radio message with an address to a dedicated cloud IP address associated with said community of members; iii) utilize background resources to forward broadcast said radio message on a WAN or cellular network to said dedicated cloud IP address; and
,c) a cloud host configured to receive radio messages from a community nodal device, wherein said cloud host is enabled to; i) parse said radio messages to identify an owner of record and any sensor payload; ii) formulate a command or notification; iii) transmit said command or notification over a broad area network to a community nodal device, to a remote machine, to an actuation device, to a smart device, or to a combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification