System, method and apparatus for sensor activation

• US 10,542,331 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2018
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensware, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Inventors: Stamatakis, Julien G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Soe, Kyaw Z
• Application Number:
  US15/888,068
• Publication Number:
  US 20180160283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 716 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00842 the system comprising a plurality of damper doors; Air distribution between several outlets
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/0001 for ventilation F24F11/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/006 Remote reading of utility meters to a non-fixed location, i.e. mobile location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/00 Electric signal transmission systems G08C17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40228 Modbus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/04 Network management architectures or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 67/12 : 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: H04Q 2209/10 : using a centralized architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 : using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 : using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 : for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/80 : Arrangements in the sub-station, i.e. sensing device
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/82 : where the sensing device takes the initiative of sending data
• 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 24/02 : Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• 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 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/06 : between gateways and public network devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 : Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A configured mode of operation of a wireless sensor node unit can selectively activate a first subset of sensor channels of data and selectively deactivate a second subset of sensor channels of data. The configured mode of operation customizes the sensor functionality in the wireless sensor node unit in support of the delivery of data streams to customers.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a wireless node module, including;

a wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a gateway device having a wide area network connection to a host system including one or more servers, the wireless transceiver receiving from the gateway device a sensor application command that is delivered to the gateway device by the host system, and

a first controller configured to transmit one or more sensor configuration instructions, which are based on the sensor application command, onto a serial communication interface; and

a sensor module, including;

a plurality of sensors, and

a second controller that communicates with the first controller in the wireless node module via the serial communication interface, the second controller controlling a transmission of sensor data derived from measurements by one or more of the plurality of sensors via the serial communication interface to the first controller for transmission by the wireless transceiver to the gateway device for delivery to the host system, the second controller receiving the one or more sensor configuration instructions via the serial communication interface, the one or more sensor configuration instructions enabling the second controller to configure the sensor module such that a first of the plurality of sensors is activated and a second of the plurality of sensors is deactivated.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the serial communication interface includes a first connection for clock signaling and a second connection for data signaling.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from taking sensor measurements.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein sensor data from the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from retrieval by the second controller.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless node module is enclosed in a first housing and the sensor module is enclosed in a second housing.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are environmental sensors.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes multiple sensors of the same type.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are environmental sensors.

10. A wireless node device, comprising:

a wireless transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a gateway device having a wide area network connection to a host system including one or more servers, the wireless transceiver receiving from the gateway device a sensor application command that is delivered to the gateway device by the host system; and

a first controller that supports a serial communication interface configured for wired communication with a second controller in a sensor module device that supports a plurality of sensors, the first controller receiving sensor data from one or more of the plurality of sensors via the serial communication interface for transmission by the wireless transceiver to the gateway device for delivery to the host system, the first controller delivering one or more sensor configuration instructions, which are based on the received sensor application command, to the sensor module device via the serial communication interface, the one or more sensor configuration instructions configuring the sensor module device such that a first of the plurality of sensors is activated and a second of the plurality of sensors is deactivated.

11. The wireless node device of claim 10, wherein the wireless transceiver is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

12. The wireless node device of claim 10, wherein the serial communication interface includes a first connection for clock signaling and a second connection for data signaling.

13. The wireless node device of claim 10, wherein the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from taking sensor measurements.

14. The wireless node device of claim 10, wherein sensor data from the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from retrieval by the second controller.

15. The wireless node device of claim 10, wherein the gateway device is installed in a monitored location in which the wireless node device is installed.

16. The wireless node device of claim 15, wherein the monitored location is a building.

17. The wireless node device of claim 15, wherein the monitored location is a movable area.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a wireless transceiver in a wireless device, a sensor application command from a gateway device having a wide area network connection;

transmitting, by a first controller in the wireless device, one or more sensor configuration instructions, which are based on the sensor application command, to a second controller in a sensor module device via a serial communication interface;

after activation of one or more of the plurality of sensors in the sensor module device using the one or more sensor configuration instructions, receiving, by the first controller via the serial communication interface, sensor data based on measurements by the activated one or more of the plurality of sensors in the sensor module device; and

transmitting, by the wireless transceiver in the wireless device, the received sensor data to the gateway device for delivery to a host system via the wide area network connection.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the wireless transceiver is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the serial communication interface includes a first connection for clock signaling and a second connection for data signaling.