Wireless Device Association System

• US 20120026016A1
• Filed: 07/27/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Mitchell, Bradley J., Callahan, Kevin S., Fletcher, Henry VanRensselaer III
• Granted Patent: US 9,113,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/945
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/25 using a mesh network, e.g. a public urban network such as public lighting, bus stops or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/75 by polling or interrogating the sub-stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• 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: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for identifying sensor units. Identification information is received from a marker in a wireless signal generated by the marker at a wireless device. The marker is associated with an object. The identification information is sent from the wireless device to a computer system. The computer system associates the wireless device with the object using the identification information.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a wireless device configured to obtain identification information from a marker and transmit the identification information in a wireless signal; and

a computer system configured to receive the wireless signal with the identification information, identify an object assigned with the marker, and associate the wireless device with the marker.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is selected from a group comprising a wireless sensor unit and a wireless controller.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to transmit data with the identification information.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to obtain the identification information in response to an event.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to transmit a first wireless signal and receive a second wireless signal with the identification information from the marker.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to select the identification information for the marker from the identification information received in a plurality of signals received from a plurality of markers.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the wireless device is configured to select the identification information for the marker from the identification information received in the plurality of signals received from the plurality of markers based on a signal strength of each of the plurality of signals.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identification information is first identification information;

the marker is a first marker;

the wireless device is configured to obtain second identification information from a second marker and send the first identification information and the second identification information to the computer system; and

the computer system is configured to associate the wireless device with a number of objects using the first identification information and the second identification information.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises:

a housing;

a wireless communications unit associated with the housing, wherein the wireless communications unit is configured to receive and send wireless signals; and

a controller associated with the housing, wherein the controller is configured to receive the identification information from the marker in the wireless signal and send the identification information over a wireless connection using the wireless communications unit.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

a number of sensors, wherein the number of sensors is configured to generate sensor data from an environment around a wireless sensor unit and the controller is configured to send the sensor data over the wireless connection using the wireless communications unit.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the wireless device is a wireless controller and wherein the wireless controller is configured to receive a number of commands in the wireless signal from the computer system using the wireless communications unit, and wherein the wireless controller performs an operation using the object associated with the wireless controller based on the number of commands.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

an aircraft, wherein the wireless sensor unit and the computer system are associated with an aircraft and form a sensor system for the aircraft.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to obtain the identification information from the marker via a tool that is configured to obtain the identification information from the marker and send the identification information to the wireless device.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the tool is configured to perform at least one of reading markings on the marker to obtain the identification information and sending a first signal to the marker and receiving a second signal from the marker in response to the first signal in which the second signal contains the identification information.

15. A method for identifying wireless devices, the method comprising:

receiving identification information from a marker at a wireless device, wherein the marker is associated with an object;

sending the identification information from the wireless device to a computer system; and

associating, by the computer system, the wireless device with the object using the identification information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of receiving the identification information from the marker at the wireless device comprises:

receiving the identification information from the marker at the wireless device in a wireless signal generated by the marker, wherein the marker is associated with the object.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of receiving the identification information from the marker at the wireless device comprises:

receiving the identification information from the marker at the wireless device via a tool that is configured to obtain the identification information from the marker and send the identification information to the wireless device, wherein the marker is associated with the object.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of associating, by the computer system, the wireless device with the object using the identification information comprises:

identifying the object using the identification information received from the wireless device; and

storing an association of the wireless device with the object in a data structure.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of identifying the object using the identification information received from the wireless device comprises:

comparing the identification information to a group of identifiers for markers assigned to objects.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

selecting the identification information for the marker from the identification information received in a plurality of signals received from a plurality of markers prior to sending the identification information from the wireless device to the computer system.