Method and apparatus reporting a vehicular sensor waveform in a wireless vehicular sensor network

• US 20060109104A1
• Filed: 06/27/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensys Networks Inc. (Tagmaster AB)
• Original Assignee: Sensys Networks Inc. (Tagmaster AB)
• Inventors: Kevaler, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,739,000 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/531
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P

Abstract

At least one waveform characteristic of a vehicular sensor waveform is reported in a wireless vehicular sensor network. The vehicular sensor waveform results a vehicle'"'"'s presence near a wireless vehicular sensor node. The waveform characteristic may be rising edge, falling edge, waveform duration and/or waveform midpoint of vehicular sensor waveform. Report transmission uses at least one wireless physical transport. Transmitting the report may initiate a response across the wireless physical transport, preferably from an access point, an acknowledgement of receiving the report. The transmitted report may be received by an access point in the wireless vehicular sensor network. The wireless vehicular sensor network may create any of a vehicular traffic report, a vehicular parking report, and/or a vehicular speeding report, based upon the received vehicular sensor waveform report.

Claims

1. A method of a wireless vehicular sensor node responding to the presence of a vehicle in a wireless vehicular sensor network, comprising the steps of:

using a vehicle sensor state from a vehicular sensor to create a vehicular sensor waveform based upon said presence of said vehicle;

generating a report of at least one waveform characteristic of said vehicular sensor waveform; and

operating a transmitter to send said report across at least one wireless physical transport to an access point included said wireless vehicular sensor network, to approximate said vehicular sensor waveform at said access point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said waveform characteristic is one of a rising edge, a falling edge, a waveform duration, and a waveform midpoint.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said report, further comprises at least one of:

a second of said waveform characteristics of said vehicular sensor waveform;

said waveform characteristic of a second of said vehicular sensor waveforms; and

said second waveform characteristic of said second vehicular sensor waveform.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step:

receiving an acknowledgement of said report.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step receiving said acknowledgement, further comprises at least one of the steps:

operating a transceiver to receive said acknowledgement;

operating a receiver to receive said acknowledgement;

receiving said acknowledgement from an intermediate node; and

receiving said acknowledgement from said access point.

6. The method of claim 4,

wherein the step using said vehicle sensor state, further comprises the steps:

updating a vehicle sensor state queue with said vehicle sensor state;

deriving said vehicular sensor waveform from said vehicle sensor state queue;

determining a change-in-presence of said vehicle based upon said vehicular sensor waveform; and

updating a waveform queue with said waveform characteristic of said vehicular sensor waveform, when said change-in-presence is indicated;

wherein the step generating said report, further comprises the steps;

assembling said report from said waveform queue; and

indicating report members of said waveform queue;

wherein the step receiving said acknowledgement, further comprises the step;

removing report members of said waveform queue found in said acknowledgement.

7. The method of claim 6,

wherein deriving said vehicular sensor waveform from said vehicle sensor state queue, further comprises the steps:

rectifying said vehicle sensor state creates a rectified vehicle sensor state;

smoothing at least one isolated spike from said rectified vehicle sensor state to create a smoothed vehicle sensor state;

designating rising edges and falling edges of a smoothed vehicle sensor state based upon an up-threshold and a down-threshold to create a truncated vehicle sensor state; and

removing falling-rising transitions smaller than a holdover-interval in said truncated vehicle sensor state to create said vehicular sensor waveform.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein to approximate said vehicular sensor waveform includes to approximate at least one of said waveform characteristics of said vehicular sensor waveform.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein to approximate said vehicular sensor waveform includes to approximate at least two of said waveform characteristics of said vehicular sensor waveform.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein to approximate at least two of said waveform characteristics further includes any two of:

to approximate said rising edge, to approximate said falling edge, to approximate said waveform duration, and to approximate said waveform midpoint.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein said waveform characteristic is one of said rising edge slope and said falling edge slope.

12. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 1, comprising:

means for using said vehicle sensor state from said vehicular sensor to create said vehicular sensor waveform based upon said presence of said vehicle;

means for operating said transmitter to send said report of said at least one waveform characteristic of said vehicular sensor waveform across said at least one wireless physical transport to said access point.

13. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, wherein the means for operating said transmitter, further comprises at least one of:

means for operating an ultrasonic transmitter to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point;

means for operating a radio transmitter to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point; and

means for operating an infrared transmitter to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point.

14. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 13,

wherein the means for operating said ultrasonic transmitter, further comprises:

means for operating an ultrasonic transceiver to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point;

wherein the means for operating said radio transmitter, further comprises;

means for operating a radio transceiver to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point; and

wherein the means for operating said infrared transmitter, further comprises;

means for operating an infrared transceiver to send said report of said waveform characteristic to said access point.

15. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, wherein said radio transceiver implements a version of at least one wireless communications protocol.

16. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 15, wherein the IEEE 80215 communications standard includes said wireless communications protocol.

17. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 16, wherein said version of said wireless communications protocol includes the IEEE 802154 communications standard.

18. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 17, wherein said radio transceiver uses at least one channel of said wireless communications protocol.

19. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, wherein said vehicular sensor includes a magnetic sensor.

20. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 19, wherein said magnetic sensor has a primary sensing axis for sensing said presence of said vehicle used to create said vehicle sensor state.

21. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 19, wherein said magnetic sensor uses a form of the magnetic resistive effect to create said vehicle sensor state.

22. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 21, wherein said magnetic sensor includes an at least two axis magneto-resistive sensor to create said vehicle sensor state.

23. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 22, wherein said magnetic sensor includes a two axis magneto-resistive sensor to create said vehicle sensor state.

24. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 22, wherein said magnetic sensor includes a three axis magneto-resistive sensor to create said vehicle sensor state.

25. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 19, wherein the means for using said vehicular sensor, further comprising:

means for using a vehicle sensor state of said magnetic sensor to create a waveform data point in a waveform data queue; and

means for extracting said vehicular sensor waveform from said waveform data queue.

26. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 25, wherein the means for extracting said vehicular sensor waveform, further comprises:

means for examining said waveform data queue to recognize at least one of a waveform characteristic from recognizing at least one of said waveform data points to create a recognized waveform data point;

means for removing said recognized waveform data points from said waveform data queue;

wherein said waveform characteristic is at least one of a rising edge, a falling edge, a waveform duration, a waveform midpoint, a rising edge slope, and a falling edge slope.

27. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, further comprising:

a computer accessibly coupled to a first memory, communicatively coupled with said vehicular sensor, and communicatively coupled with said transmitter;

wherein said computer is directed by a program system including program steps residing in said first memory;

wherein said program system comprises the program steps of;

using said vehicular sensor to create said vehicular sensor waveform based upon said presence of said vehicle; and

operating said transmitter to send said report of said at least one waveform characteristic of said vehicular sensor waveform across said at least one wireless physical transport to said access point;

wherein said means for using includes said program step using said vehicular sensor; and

wherein said means for operating includes said program step operating said transmitter.

28. The wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, wherein at least one of said means for using said vehicular sensor and said means for operating said transmitter, includes at least one of a finite state machine, a field programmable logic device, and a computer;

wherein said computer includes at least one instruction processor and at least one data processor directed by at least one of said instruction processors.

29. A method making said wireless vehicular sensor node of claim 12, comprising the steps:

inserting a circuit apparatus containing said means of said wireless vehicular sensor node into a plastic shell to content-create a content shell;

wherein said method further comprises at least one of the steps;

gluing said content shell to an indentation in a locally flat surface to create said wireless vehicular sensor node with said glued bond to said indentation in said locally flat surface; and

gluing a protective assembly containing said content shell to said locally flat surface to create to create said wireless vehicular sensor node with said glued bond to said locally flat surface.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising the step:

filling said content shell with a filler to fill-create a filled shell; and

wherein said method, further comprises at least one of the steps;

gluing said filled shell to an indentation in a locally flat surface to create said wireless vehicular sensor node with said glued bond to said indentation in said locally flat surface; and

gluing said filled shell to said locally flat surface to glue-create said wireless vehicular sensor node with a glued bond to said locally flat surface

31. The wireless vehicular sensor node with said glued bond to said locally flat surface and the wireless vehicular sensor node with said glued bond to said indentation in said locally flat surface, as a product of the process of claim 30.

32. A method of operating the access point of claim 1, comprising the steps:

operating a receiver to receive said report; and

deriving a vehicle velocity estimate for at least one vehicle from said report.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the step operating said receiver further comprises at least one of the steps:

operating said receiver to receive said report from said wireless vehicular sensor node; and

operating said receiver to receive said report via an intermediate node from said wireless vehicular sensor node.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the step operating said receiver further comprises the step:

operating a transceiver to receive said report.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of:

operating said transceiver to send an acknowledgement of said report.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step operating said transceiver to send, further comprises at least one of the steps:

operating said transceiver to send said acknowledgement to said wireless vehicular sensor node; and

operating said transceiver to send said acknowledgement via an intermediate sensor node to said wireless vehicular sensor node.

37. The acknowledgement;

as a product of the process of claim 36.

38. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step:

operating said transceiver to send a synchronization message to at least one wireless vehicular sensor node included in said wireless vehicular sensor network.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the step operating said transceiver to send said synchronization message, further comprises the step:

operating said transceiver to send said synchronization message to each of said wireless vehicular sensor nodes included in said wireless vehicular sensor network.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein said synchronization message includes a global clock count.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step:

maintaining said global clock count.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein the step operating said transceiver to send said synchronization signal, further comprises the step:

operating said transceiver to send said synchronization message via an intermediate node to said at least one wireless vehicular sensor node.

43. The method of claim 34, wherein said transceiver includes at least one of:

an ultrasonic transmitter, a radio transmitter, and an infra-red transmitter.

44. The method of claim 32, wherein said receiver includes at least one of:

an ultrasonic receiver, a radio receiver, and an infra-red receiver.

45. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step:

assembling a traffic report based upon said vehicle velocity estimate.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step:

operating a network transceiver to send said traffic report to a traffic monitoring network.

47. The traffic report, as a product of the process of claim 45.

48. The report received at said access point and the vehicle velocity estimate, as products of the process of claim 32.

49. The vehicular sensor waveform, the waveform characteristic, and the report as products of the process of claim 1.