Device and Method for Radio Programming Wireless Terminal Devices

• US 20110260836A1
• Filed: 04/21/2011
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Original Assignee: Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Datax Handelsgmbh)
• Inventors: Tijink, Jasja, Povolny, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,380,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• 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 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A method and device for radio programming wireless terminal devices, which have a unique radio identification and an optical or acoustic signal device, with a transceiver for radio communication with the terminal devices and a control device connected to the transceiver. The control device is configured for radio programming the terminal devices with a predetermined radio identification via the radio transceiver. The control device is connected with at least one optical or acoustic signal detector and is configured for transmitting a request for emission of an optical or acoustic signal to a terminal device with a predetermined radio identification via the transceiver. The terminal device is radio programmed, only when the signal detector detects an optical or acoustic signal.

Claims

1. A device for radio programming wireless terminal devices each having a unique radio identification and a signal device of an optical or acoustic type, comprising:

a transceiver for radio communication with the terminal devices; and

a control device electrically coupled to the transceiver and to at least one optical or acoustic signal detector;

wherein said control device is configured to acquire information, via the transceiver, from a terminal device with a predetermined radio identification concerning the type of signal that terminal device can emit, to transmit a request to said terminal device dependent on said acquired information for emission of a corresponding optical or acoustic signal, and to radio program said terminal device when the signal detector detects said corresponding optical or acoustic signal.

2. The device according to claim 1 with at least one optical signal detector, wherein the optical signal detector is located in a receiving arrangement for a terminal device protected against ambient light.

3. The device according to claim 1 with at least one acoustic signal detector, wherein the acoustic signal detector is located in a receiving arrangement for a terminal device protected against ambient noise.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the receiving arrangement is an internal space of the device, towards which both the transceiver and the signal detector are directed.

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein the receiving arrangement is an internal space of the device, towards which both the transceiver and the signal detector are directed.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the signal detector detects the signal form or frequency of the optical or acoustic signal.

7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising an optical and an acoustic signal detector, wherein the control device is configured to transmit a request for emission of an optical and an acoustic signal to a terminal device with a predetermined radio identification via the transceiver and then radio program said terminal device only when the signal detectors detect an optical signal and an acoustic signal.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein said radio identification is a unique device identification, or a MAC address of the terminal device.

9. A method for radio programming wireless terminal devices each having a unique radio identification and capable of emitting an optical or acoustic signal, by a radio programming station, the method comprising:

acquiring information by the radio programming station from a terminal device with a predetermined radio identification concerning a type of signal that terminal device can emit;

transmitting by the radio programming station a request to said terminal device dependent on said acquired information for emission of a corresponding optical or acoustic signal; and

radio programming said terminal device when the radio programming station detects said corresponding optical or acoustic signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising inserting the terminal device to be radio programmed into a receiving arrangement of the radio programming station protected against ambient light.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprising inserting the terminal device to be radio programmed into a receiving arrangement of the radio programming station protected against ambient noise.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein an internal space of the radio programming station is used as said receiving arrangement, in which the radio programming takes place.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein an internal space of the radio programming station is used as said receiving arrangement, in which the radio programming takes place.

14. The method according to claim 9, further comprising evaluating one or more of a signal form and a frequency of the optical or acoustic signal and radio programming the terminal device only when said evaluated one or more of a signal form and a frequency correspond to predetermined criteria.

15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising transmitting by the radio programming station a request for emission of an optical and an acoustic signal to the terminal device with a predetermined radio identification;

and radio programming the terminal device only when the terminal device receives said at least an optical signal and an acoustic signal.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein the radio programming station radio scans the radio identifications of all reachable terminal devices and performs said acquiring information said transmitting the request, and said radio programming for each one of the scanned reachable terminal devices.