Method and apparatus for monitoring and processing sensor data using a sensor-interfacing device

• US 10,498,623 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2013
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ubiquiti Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ubiquiti Inc.
• Inventors: Frei, Randall W., Cheng, Linker, Pera, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gami, Tejal
• Application Number:
  US13/736,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20140005810A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,520 Days
• Field of Search: 700 90, 709231
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/10 Program control for peripheral devices G06F13/14 - G06F13/42 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/01 characterised by the transmission medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2818 from a device located outside both the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless eletrical link G08C17/00; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with remote control systems H04M11/007
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/024 using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/256 NAT traversal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2575 using address mapping retrieval, e.g. simple traversal of user datagram protocol through session traversal utilities for NAT [STUN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5061 Pools of addresses
• 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: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 : Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 : Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 : Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 : Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 : Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A sensor-monitoring interfacing device is coupled to one or more physical devices that include sensors for measuring physical attributes. During operation, the interfacing device obtains and processes sensor data from the physical devices. When the interfacing device obtains sensor data from a physical device, the interfacing device selects a rule to process based on the obtained sensor data. If the interfacing device determines that the rule'"'"'s condition is satisfied, the interfacing device can process the rule'"'"'s action description to perform a corresponding action.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

subscribing, by a first interfacing device, to event notifications generated by a remote second interfacing device, wherein each of the first and remote second interfacing devices comprises at least one or more physical ports for direct coupling to one or more physical devices with each physical device comprising at least one sensor, and wherein the first and remote second interfacing devices are directly coupled to first and second physical devices, respectively;

receiving, by the first interfacing device, an event notification from the remote second interfacing device;

wherein the event notification comprises sensor data generated by a sensor in the second physical device;

selecting, by the first interfacing device, a rule associated with the event notification, wherein the rule includes an action description and a condition for performing an action;

in response to determining that processing the selected rule requires additional sensor data, obtaining the additional sensor data from the first physical device coupled to the first interfacing device;

determining that the rule'"'"'s condition is satisfied based on sensor data from the first and second physical devices coupled to the first and remote second interfacing devices, respectively; and

processing the rule'"'"'s action description to perform the action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor includes one or more of:

a temperature sensor;

a humidity sensor;

a current sensor;

a motion sensor;

a light sensor;

a moisture sensor; and

a digital-value sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the action includes one or more of:

sending a predetermined signal pattern over a serial port;

sending a predetermined signal pattern over one or more general-purpose output pins;

processing a predetermined script to configure a peripheral device via a serial port;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received sensor data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein subscribing to the event notifications involves sending a data-subscription request to the remote second interfacing device, and wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a minimum threshold value for the sensor data;

a maximum threshold value for the sensor data;

a time duration since a previous piece of sensor data was provided to the remote second interfacing device; and

a difference threshold between the obtained sensor data and a previous piece of sensor data that was provided to the remote second interfacing device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the event notification involves receiving a packet comprising the sensor data from the remote second interfacing device, and wherein the packet is sent via an established peer-to-peer network-connection between the first interfacing device and the remote second interfacing device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection is established based on one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a request for establishing the network connection based on the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from a network device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein establishing the network connection based on the WebSocket protocol includes:

storing the Sec-WebSocket-Key in association with the network device;

generating a Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the first interfacing device based on the Sec-WebSocket-Key; and

sending to the first interfacing device a response which acknowledges a persistent WebSocket communication channel, wherein the response includes at least the Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the first interfacing device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein establishing the network connection based on the STUN protocol includes:

receiving a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the network device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein establishing the network connection based on the Comet protocol includes:

receiving a long-polling request from the network device;

determining network-addressing information for the network device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the rule includes:

selecting a set of rules whose condition takes the received sensor data as input;

determining a user-specified ordering for the set of rules, wherein the user-specified ordering indicates an order in which the rules are to be processed;

selecting a first rule based on the user-specified ordering;

processing the first rule to execute a first action description;

determining an updated state of the first interfacing device; and

selecting a next rule in the ordering as the rule to process according to the updated state.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a color of a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator based on one or more of:

determining that the first interfacing device is in a factory-default mode;

determining that the first interfacing device is provisioned by a network controller that monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices, which includes the first interfacing device; and

determining that the first interfacing device is being monitored by the network controller.

36. The method of claim 1:

wherein the remote second interfacing device performs a lookup for calibration information associated with the sensor in the second physical device, based on a model identifier of the sensor; and

wherein the remote second interfacing device converts a raw electrical output of the sensor to one or more measured physical attributes based on the calibration information.

37. The method of claim 1:

wherein the sensor data includes a first physical attribute indicating at least one of;

a time value;

a temperature;

a humidity level;

a detected motion;

a light level; and

a moisture level.

38. The method of claim 37:

wherein the first and second physical devices are located in different locations.

39. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the first interfacing device, the sensor data from the first physical device to a controller;

obtaining, by the controller, a map that covers a geographic area associated with at least the first interfacing device; and

presenting, by the controller, a device-monitoring user interface that displays the map, and represents the first interfacing device and sensor data over the map.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a first interfacing device cause the first interfacing device to perform a method, comprising:

subscribing to event notifications generated by a remote second interfacing device, wherein each of the first and remote second interfacing devices comprises at least one or more physical ports for direct coupling to one or more physical devices with each physical device comprising at least one sensor, and wherein the first and remote second interfacing devices are directly coupled to first and second physical devices, respectively;

receiving an event notification from the remote second interfacing device;

wherein the event notification comprises sensor data generated by a sensor in the second physical device;

selecting a rule associated with the event notification, wherein the rule includes an action description and a condition for performing an action;

in response to determining that processing the selected rule requires additional sensor data, obtaining the additional sensor data from a first physical device coupled to the first interfacing device;

determining that the rule'"'"'s condition is satisfied based on sensor data from the first and second physical devices coupled to the first and remote second interfacing devices, respectively; and

processing the rule'"'"'s action description to perform the action.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the at least one sensor includes one or more of:

a temperature sensor;

a humidity sensor;

a current sensor;

a motion sensor;

a light sensor;

a moisture sensor; and

a digital-value sensor.

15. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the action includes one or more of:

sending a predetermined signal pattern over a serial port;

sending a predetermined signal pattern over one or more general-purpose output pins;

processing a predetermined script to configure a peripheral device via a serial port;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received sensor data.

16. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein subscribing to the event notifications involves sending a data-subscription request to the remote second interfacing device, and wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a minimum threshold value for the sensor data;

a maximum threshold value for the sensor data;

a time duration since a previous piece of sensor data was provided to the remote second interfacing device; and

a difference threshold between the obtained sensor data and a previous piece of sensor data that was provided to the remote second interfacing device.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein receiving the event notification involves receiving a packet comprising the sensor data from the remote second interfacing device, and wherein the packet is sent via an established peer-to-peer network connection between the first interfacing device and the remote second interfacing device.

18. The storage medium of claim 17, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection is established based on one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

19. The storage medium of claim 18, wherein a request for establishing the network connection based on the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from a network device.

20. The storage medium of claim 19, wherein establishing the network connection based on the WebSocket protocol includes:

storing the Sec-WebSocket-Key in association with the network device;

generating a Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the first interfacing device based on the Sec-WebSocket-Key; and

sending to the first interfacing device a response which acknowledges the persistent WebSocket communication channel, wherein the response includes at least the Sec-WebSocket-Accept token for the first interfacing device.

21. The storage medium of claim 18, wherein establishing the network connection based on the STUN protocol includes:

receiving a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the network device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

22. The storage medium of claim 18, wherein establishing the network connection based on the Comet protocol includes:

receiving a long-polling request from the network device;

determining network-addressing information for the network device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

storing the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

23. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein selecting the rule to process includes:

selecting a set of rules whose condition takes the received sensor data as input;

determining a user-specified ordering for the set of rules, wherein the user-specified ordering indicates an order in which the rules are to be processed;

selecting a first rule based on the user-specified ordering;

processing the first rule to execute a first action description;

determining an updated state of the first interfacing device; and

selecting a next rule in the ordering as the rule to process according to the updated state.

24. The storage medium of claim 13, further comprising adjusting a color of a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator based on one or more of:

determining that the first interfacing device is in a factory-default mode;

determining that the first interfacing device is provisioned by a network controller that monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices, which include the first interfacing device; and

determining that the first interfacing device is being monitored by the network controller.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

a first interfacing device comprising at least one or more physical ports for direct coupling to a first physical device;

a subscribing module configured to subscribe to event notifications generated by a remote second interfacing device, wherein the remote second interfacing device comprises at least one or more physical ports for direct coupling to a second physical device, wherein each of the first and second physical devices comprises at least one sensor;

a receiving module configured to receive an event notification from the remote second interfacing device;

wherein the event notification comprises sensor data generated by a sensor in the second physical device; and

a rule-processing module configured to;

select a rule associated with the event notification, wherein the rule includes an action description and a condition for performing an action;

in response to determining that processing the selected rule requires additional sensor data, obtain the additional sensor data from the first physical device coupled to the first interfacing device

determine that the rule'"'"'s condition is satisfied based on sensor data from the first and second physical devices coupled to the first and remote second interfacing devices, respectively; and

process the rule'"'"'s action description to perform the action.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one sensor includes one or more of:

a temperature sensor;

a humidity sensor;

a current sensor;

a motion sensor;

a light sensor;

a moisture sensor; and

a digital-value sensor.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the action includes one or more of:

sending a predetermined signal pattern over a serial port;

sending a predetermined signal pattern over one or more general-purpose output pins;

processing a predetermined script to configure a peripheral device via a serial port;

sending an email message to a predetermined recipient;

creating a system alert;

generating an event for an event log; and

computing a data value based in part on the received sensor data.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein while subscribing to the event notifications, the subscribing module is further configured to send a data-subscription request to the remote second interfacing device, and wherein the data-subscription request indicates one or more of:

a minimum threshold value for the sensor data;

a maximum threshold value for the sensor data;

a time duration since a previous piece of sensor data was provided to the second interfacing device; and

a difference threshold between the obtained sensor data and a previous piece of sensor data that was provided to the second interfacing device.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive a packet comprising the sensor data from the remote second interfacing device via an established peer-to-peer network connection between the first interfacing device and the remote second interfacing device.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the peer-to-peer network connection is established based on one or more of:

a WebSockets protocol;

a communication channel via the Session-Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN) protocol; and

a Comet protocol.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein a request for establishing the network connection based on the WebSocket protocol includes at least one of:

a WebSocket handshake request to upgrade a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) session to a WebSocket session; and

a Sec-WebSocket-Key token from a network device.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein while establishing the network connection based on the STUN protocol, the communication module is further configured to:

receive a binding request that indicates network-addressing information for the network device, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

store the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein while establishing the network connection based on the Comet protocol, the communication module is further configured to:

receive a long-polling request from the network device;

determine network-addressing information for the network device based on the long-polling request, wherein the network-addressing information includes at least one or more of a network address and a port number; and

store the network-addressing information in association with the network device.

34. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein while selecting the rule to process, the rule-processing module is further configured to:

select a set of rules whose condition takes the received sensor data as input;

determine a user-specified ordering for the set of rules, wherein the user-specified ordering indicates an order in which the rules are to be processed;

select a first rule based on the user-specified ordering;

process the first rule to execute a first action description;

determine an updated state of the first interfacing device; and

select a next rule in the ordering as the rule to process according to the updated state.

35. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

a light-emitting diode (LED) indicator; and

an indicator-controlling module to adjust a color of the LED indicator based on one or more of;

determining that the first interfacing device is in a factory-default mode;

determining that the first interfacing device is provisioned by a network controller that monitors or controls one or more interfacing devices, which includes the first interfacing device; and

determining that the first interfacing device is being monitored by the network controller.