Multi tier wireless communication system

• US 7,027,416 B1
• Filed: 10/01/1997
• Issued: 04/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Kriz, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang Bin
• Application Number:
  US08/941,963
• Time in Patent Office: 3,114 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/311, 370/313, 370/315, 370/328, 370/329, 370/338, 370/340, 370/341, 455/343, 455/422, 455/445, 455/523, 455/574, 340 31-319, 340/870.11, 340/870.12, 340/870.13, 340/870.14, 340/870.15
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/1083 Pager locating systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2834 Switching of information between an external network and a home network access arrangements H04L12/2856
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2845 Telephone line
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A monitoring system is provided with a two tier communication network. Multiple first tier nodes comprising wireless or RF sensors are each equipped with transceivers operating at a first, low power level. Multiple second tier nodes are spaced to communicate with selected sensors at the lower bandwidth level, and also communicate with each other at a higher power level and higher bandwidth, to route sensor communications to a central controller. The sensors comprise standard home and small business sensors such as motion detectors, glass breakage, pressure, temperature, humidity and carbon monoxide sensors to name a few, each equipped with a transceiver. The sensors are placed throughout a structure to be protected or monitored. Since such structures can be quite large, several second tier routers are provided such that at least one is within range of each sensor to receive its low power signals. A routing table is dynamically generated to direct communications between routers and the controller

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of devices, each device coupled to a low power transceiver that transmits over a short range, and receives information, wherein at least one of the devices is selected from the group consisting of sensors, actuators, and controllers;

a plurality of router nodes, each router node having a transceiver capable of receiving device information from one or more proximate wireless devices and capable of wireless communication at a higher power level with other router nodes; and

a controller coupled to at least one router node for receiving device information, wherein the router nodes transmit device information either to the controller or to another router for further transmission of the device information.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the low power transceiver has a lower data bandwidth capability than the bandwidth of the communication between router nodes at the higher power level.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the devices further comprise a battery for supplying power to the low power transceiver.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein one of the routers is hardwired to a device which generates high bandwidth information.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is coupled between a telephone wiring network in a structure and external telephone lines.

6. The system of claim 5 and wherein the controller is capable of intercepting touch tones transmitted on the telephone wiring network in the structure and interpreting them as controller commands.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller transmits information via the routers to devices in accordance with the touch tone commands.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller further comprises circuitry to receive transmissions representative of controller commands from a wireless telephone.

9. A monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of devices, each device having a low power battery operated transceiver that communicates information over a short range, provided by the device, wherein at least one of the devices is selected from the group consisting of sensors, actuators, and controllers;

a router having a transceiver that receives communications from at least one selected device and transmits further communications via a higher power transceiver to other routers; and

a controller communicatively coupled to a router.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the low power transceiver has a lower data bandwidth capability than the bandwidth of the communication between routers.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein one of the routers is hardwired to a device which generates high bandwidth information.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller is coupled between a telephone wiring network in a structure and external telephone lines.

13. The system of claim 12 and wherein the controller is capable of intercepting touch tones transmitted on the telephone wiring network in the structure and interpreting them as controller commands.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the controller transmits information via the routers to the device in accordance with the touch tone commands.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller further comprises circuitry to receive transmissions representative of controller commands from a wireless telephone.

16. A network of router nodes communicatively coupled to a central controller of a security monitoring system, the network comprising:

a first router node hardwired into the central controller;

a second router node having a first receiver for receiving low power transmissions of physical condition related information from a plurality of devices located proximate the second router node, a second receiver for receiving high bandwidth transmissions from other routers in the system, and a first transmitter coupled to the first and second receivers that transmits information from the plurality of devices at a relatively high power to the first router node.

17. The network of claim 16 and further comprising a plurality of further router nodes located proximate to a further plurality of devices transmitting at low power.

18. The network of claim 17 wherein at least some of the plurality of further router nodes transmit information from the proximate devices to the first router node.

19. A router node in a physical condition monitoring system, the router node comprising:

a first transceiver that receives low power transmissions of information from a plurality of devices located proximate the router node, wherein at least one of the devices is selected from the group consisting of sensors, actuators, and controllers; and

a second transceiver that receives high bandwidth transmissions from other routers in the system, wherein the second transceiver further transmits information from the plurality of devices at a higher power level than the received low power transmissions.

20. The router node of claim 19 wherein the second transceiver operates at an unlicensed spread spectrum frequency range.

21. The router node of claim 20 wherein the frequency range is selected from the group consisting of 900 MHZ, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz.

22. The router node of claim 19 and further comprising a device which is hardwired directly to the router node for direct communication of high bandwidth information.

23. The router node of claim 22, wherein the hardwired device comprises a video camera.

24. The router node of claim 23, wherein the router node transmits high bandwidth compressed video to other routers at the higher power level.

25. A system comprising:

a plurality of means for transmitting information at a low power and receiving information;

a plurality of means for being located proximate to and receiving device information from one or more of the means for transmitting information at a lower power and for wireless communication at a higher power level with other such means for being located proximate to and receiving device information; and

means for controlling the plurality of means for being located proximate to and receiving device information.