OPERATING STATE DETECTION WITH ELECTRICALLY-POWERED ACTIVE RFID TAGS

• US 20170115715A1
• Filed: 01/03/2017
• Published: 04/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Emanate Wireless, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Emanate Wireless, Inc.
• Inventors: Sugar, Gary L.
• Application Number:
  US15/396,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20170115715A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3212 Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level

Abstract

Techniques are presented herein for monitoring operational status of a host device to which a pass-through tag is connected. The techniques involve obtaining from a pass-through tag through which electrical power is supplied to a host device, a current measurement of the host device over a predetermined time period; deriving from the current measurement at least one parameter for determining a usage state of the host device, wherein the at least one parameter includes an overshoot of a current related measurement; and determining when a component in the host device is running properly based on the at least one parameter.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining from a pass-through tag through which electrical power is supplied to a host device, a current measurement of the host device over a predetermined time period;

deriving from the current measurement at least one parameter for determining a usage state of the host device, wherein the at least one parameter includes an overshoot of a current related measurement; and

determining when a component in the host device is running properly based on the at least one parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter is one or more of:

a minimum or maximum level of root mean squared (RMS) current overshoot, a minimum or maximum settling time for a RMS current overshoot, a minimum or maximum post-overshoot mean RMS current level, a minimum or a maximum peak-to-peak post-overshoot RMS current ripple.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the usage state of the host device based on the at least one parameter; and

transmitting the usage state of the host device to a server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the host device is a refrigerator, freezer or refrigerator/freezer combination unit and the component is a compressor in the refrigerator, freezer or refrigerator/freezer combination unit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the host device is an electrically powered hospital bed and the at least one parameter includes a mean root mean squared (RMS) current, standard deviation of RMS current, a peak-to-average ratio of RMS current, or a level crossing rate of RMS current consumption.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the deriving and determining are performed at the pass-through tag.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the deriving and determining are performed at a server to which the pass-through tag communicates.

8. A method comprising:

obtaining from a pass-through tag through which electrical power is supplied to a hospital bed, a current measurement of the hospital bed;

monitoring the current measurement of the hospital bed; and

determining whether a person is occupying the hospital bed based on the monitoring.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising deriving from the current measurement at least one parameter for determining a usage state of the hospital bed, wherein the at least one parameter includes an overshoot of a current related measurement.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one parameter is one or more of:

a minimum or maximum level of root mean squared (RMS) current overshoot, a minimum or maximum settling time for a RMS current overshoot, a minimum or maximum post-overshoot mean RMS current level, a minimum or a maximum peak-to-peak post-overshoot RMS current ripple.