WIRELESS NETWORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR UNITS
First Claim
1. A method of configuring an environmental monitoring system to monitor environmental conditions in an environment, the method comprising:
- providing an environmental sensor unit and a base station, the environmental sensor unit and the base station being configured to automatically associate with one another upon application of power to the environmental sensor unit and the base station;
configuring a server to monitor one or more environmental conditions in a location;
receiving at the server communications from the base station that the environmental sensor unit and the base station are operating in the environment; and
monitoring at least one environmental condition based on data collected at the environmental sensor unit and relayed to the server via the base station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Environmental monitoring systems that include base stations and environmental sensor units (ESUs) that communicate in a wireless sensor network. A base station may include environmental sensors and may communicate with a remote server using a wide-area wireless network. The base station may also communicate with an environmental sensor unit using a wireless personal area network. The ESU may include environmental sensors and may communicate with the remote server via the base station. The base station and ESU may be adapted to automatically pair with one another to enable the ESU to communicate via the base station. An ESU may also be adapted to process data regarding environmental conditions by automatically determining a type of environmental sensor from which the data was received and processing the data based on the type. An ESU may also include physical ports by which new sensors can be connected to the ESU.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A method of configuring an environmental monitoring system to monitor environmental conditions in an environment, the method comprising:
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providing an environmental sensor unit and a base station, the environmental sensor unit and the base station being configured to automatically associate with one another upon application of power to the environmental sensor unit and the base station; configuring a server to monitor one or more environmental conditions in a location; receiving at the server communications from the base station that the environmental sensor unit and the base station are operating in the environment; and monitoring at least one environmental condition based on data collected at the environmental sensor unit and relayed to the server via the base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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9. An apparatus to process and transmit information produced by at least one environmental sensor, each of the at least one environmental sensor being configured to produce a value identifying a current environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located, each environmental sensor being of a sensor type of a plurality of sensor types, each sensor type being associated with an environmental condition of a plurality of environmental conditions, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one circuit to receive data as input and to output processed data, the at least one circuit being configured to, based on input received from a first environmental sensor comprising a first value identifying a first current environmental condition monitored by the first environmental sensor, select processing to perform on the first value based on a first sensor type of the first environmental sensor and perform the selected processing on the first value to produce a first processed value as the processed data to be output; and a wireless transceiver to transmit the processed data from the apparatus according to a first wireless communication protocol, the processed data being formatted in accordance with a data communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of providing to an environmental sensor unit, adapted to communicate via a first wireless communication protocol, access to a second network operating according to a second communication protocol, the first environmental sensor unit comprising at least one environmental sensor to monitor at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the first environmental sensor unit is located, the method comprising:
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selecting, from at least one other device adapted to communicate according to the first wireless communication protocol and to communicate via the second network, a device with which to associate the environmental sensor unit for transmitting communications to the second network, the selecting comprising; transmitting, from the environmental sensor unit, a request for responses from devices within communication range of the environmental sensor unit that are adapted to communicate via the first wireless communication protocol and provide access to the second network; receiving at least one response to the request from at least one responding device; choosing the device from the at least one responding device based on at least one criterion; and transmitting to an environmental monitoring server at least one communication from the environmental sensor unit according to the first wireless communication protocol, each of the at least one communication comprising data related to the at least one environmental condition and an identifier for the device. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of communicating in an environmental monitoring system, the environmental monitoring system comprising an environmental sensor unit to produce data regarding at least one environmental condition and a server to analyze and store the data regarding the at least one environmental condition, the environmental monitoring system further comprising a device, the method comprising operating the device to carry out acts of:
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receiving a communication from the environmental sensor unit according to a first wireless communication protocol and a data communication protocol, the data communication protocol being a stateless protocol, the communication comprising data regarding the at least one environmental condition and an identifier for the device; transmitting the communication to the server according to a second communication protocol and the data communication protocol; and in response to receiving a response communication from the server according to the second communication protocol and the data communication protocol, transmitting the response communication to the environmental sensor unit via the first wireless communication protocol and the data communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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Specification