Coordinated processing of published sensor values within a distributed network

• US 10,542,610 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2019
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2019
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silvair sp. z o.o.
• Original Assignee: Silvair sp. z o.o.
• Inventors: Slupik, Szymon
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Jimmy T
• Application Number:
  US16/553,657
• Time in Patent Office: 146 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25011 Domotique, I-O bus, home automation, building automation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33149 Publisher subscriber, publisher, master broadcasts data to slaves, subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities 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 H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5069 for group communication, multicast communication or broadcast communication
• 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 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• 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: H05B 47/105 in response to determined parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A distributed control system featuring the coordination of functionality among peer controller nodes. The controller nodes are luminaires that are capable of controlling the ambient lighting within a building area. Within the control system, there are one or more ambient light sensors for reporting the ambient light level by publishing data packets containing sensor values. The controller luminaire nodes are members of a defined group of nodes that behave according to the same set of rules. Each controller node is capable of generating a control signal in response to detecting the data packets containing a group address to which the controller node is subscribed. In particular, a first controller node generates a first control signal for controlling a lamp if a subscribed-to group address is detected, wherein the control signal is determined by an aggregate function whose input values include the sensor values in the data packets.

Claims

1. A first controller node configured to operate within a wireless network, the first controller node comprising:

a receiver configured to detect data packets that are transmitted by other nodes configured to operate within the wireless network, including a) a first data packet published by a first sensor node and containing a first sensor value and b) a second data packet published by a second sensor node and containing a second sensor value;

a processor configured to;

i) subscribe the first controller node to a first non-empty set of subscribed-to addresses, including a first group address, wherein the subscribed-to addresses are stored in a memory, and

ii) generate a first control signal in response to detecting the data packets, wherein the processor is configured to generate the first control signal only if at least one of the subscribed-to addresses is detected in the first and second data packets, wherein the first control signal is determined by an aggregate function whose input values include the first sensor value and the second sensor value; and

an actor unit configured to perform a predetermined function dependent on the first control signal.

2. The first controller node of claim 1 wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a first set of signals, and wherein the first controller node is subscribed to the first group address via the first set of signals.

3. The first controller node of claim 1 wherein the aggregate function is dependent on the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

4. The first controller node of claim 3 wherein the aggregate function is an arithmetic mean of input values to the aggregate function, for at least some values of the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

5. The first controller node of claim 4 wherein the aggregate function is a median of input values to the aggregate function if the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address exceeds a predetermined value.

6. The first controller node of claim 3, wherein the first controller node is further configured to determine the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address, from the source address of each detected data packet in which the first group address is detected.

7. The first controller node of claim 1 wherein the aggregate function is dependent on the physical condition being sensed by sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

8. The first controller node of claim 7 wherein the aggregate function is a sum of input values to the aggregate function if the physical condition being sensed is motion or occupancy.

9. The first controller node of claim 1 wherein the actor unit is a lamp and the predetermined function is lighting control.

10. The first controller node of claim 9 wherein the lamp is configured to change brightness of the lamp dependent on the processor generating the first control signal.

11. A method for automation and control within a building, comprising:

receiving, by a first controller node configured to operate within a wireless network, a first set of signals for subscribing the first controller node to a first non-empty set of subscribed-to addresses, including a first group address;

detecting, by the first controller node, data packets that are transmitted by other nodes configured to operate within the wireless network, including a) a first data packet published by a first sensor node and containing a first sensor value and b) a second data packet published by a second sensor node and containing a second sensor value;

generating, by the first controller node, a first control signal in response to detecting the data packets, wherein the first controller node generates the first control signal only if at least one of the subscribed-to addresses is detected in the first and second data packets, wherein the first control signal is determined by an aggregate function whose input values include the first sensor value and the second sensor value; and

performing, by the first controller node, a predetermined function dependent on the first control signal.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the aggregate function is dependent on the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the aggregate function is an arithmetic mean of input values to the aggregate function, for at least some values of the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the aggregate function is a median of input values to the aggregate function if the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address exceeds a predetermined value.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, by the first controller node, the number of sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address, from the source address of each detected data packet in which the first group address is detected.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the aggregate function is dependent on the physical condition being sensed by sensor nodes that publish data packets to the first group address.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the aggregate function is a sum of input values to the aggregate function if the physical condition being sensed is motion or occupancy.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the first control signal controls a lamp and the predetermined function is lighting control.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the lamp is configured to change brightness of the lamp dependent on the first controller node generating the first control signal.

20. A non-transitory tangible computer readable medium storing computer executable code, comprising code for causing a first controller node within a wireless network to:

receive a first set of signals for subscribing the first controller node to a first non-empty set of subscribed-to addresses, including a first group address;

detect data packets that are transmitted by other nodes configured to operate within the wireless network, including a) a first data packet published by a first sensor node and containing a first sensor value and b) a second data packet published by a second sensor node and containing a second sensor value;

generate a first control signal in response to detecting the data packets, wherein the first controller node generates the first control signal only if at least one of the subscribed-to addresses is detected in the first and second data packets, wherein the first control signal is determined by an aggregate function whose input values include the first sensor value and the second sensor value; and

perform a predetermined function dependent on the first control signal.