Wireless sensor alerts

• US 7,076,211 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2003
• Issued: 07/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovative Building Management Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Electronic Data Systems Corporation (Perspecta, Inc.)
• Inventors: Korpi, Mika T., Donner, Jan J., Donner, Mikael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): D AGOSTA, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US10/685,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20050079880A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• Field of Search: 4554041-4042, 4554561-457, 4554141-4142, 455/432.1, 455/41.2, 340/506, 340/539.14, 34053926-53927, 340540-542, 340/545.1, 3405459-546
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• 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: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Techniques are provided for wireless sensor alerts. In certain implementations, wireless sensor alerts may be facilitated by a process at a wireless device. The process may include detecting a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device, comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable rules at the wireless device, and, if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules, generating a communication for transmission to a wireless network based on the satisfied rule.

Claims

1. A method performed at a wireless device, the method comprising:

detecting a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device;

comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable rules at the wireless device;

if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules;

generating, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network;

detecting a request to modify the programmable rules;

determining whether parameters for a rule have been received; and

if the parameters have been received, modifying the rules, wherein modifying the rules comprises adding a new rule based on the received parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the environmental state; and

generating the signal representing the environmental state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal represents sound level.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the environmental state represented by the signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein identifying the environmental state represented by the signal comprises:

determining an environmental condition associated with the state; and

determining a level of the environmental condition.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication comprises a Short Message Service message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental state must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is from a second wireless device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a request to open a voice channel in response to the communication; and

establishing the voice channel using the wireless device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rules specifies multiple communications for an environmental state.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.

14. A wireless device comprising:

a sensor operable to detect an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device and to generate a signal representing the environmental state;

a processor coupled to the sensor, the processor operable to;

detect the signal representing the environmental state,

compare the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable rules,

if the environmental condition satisfies at least one of the rules, generate, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless networks,

detect a request to modify the programmable rules,

determine whether parameters for a rule have been received, and

if the parameters have been received, modify the rules, wherein modifying the rules comprises adding a new rule based on the received parameters; and

a transceiver coupled to the processor, the transceiver operable to wirelessly send the communication.

15. The wireless device of claim 14, further comprising:

an audio input device coupled to the processor, the audio input device operable to detect a user'"'"'s voice and to generate a signal representative thereof;

an audio output device coupled to the processor, the audio output device operable to receive a signal representative of sound and to generate sound representative thereof;

a visual output device coupled to the processor, the visual output device operable to receive a signal representative of visual information and to generate visual information representative thereof; and

a user-manipulable input device coupled to the processor, the user-manipulable input device operable to detect user manipulation thereof and to generate a signal representative thereof.

16. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to identify the environmental state represented by the signal.

17. The wireless device of claim 16, wherein the processor is operable to determine an environmental condition associated with the environmental state and to determine a level of the environmental condition to identify the environmental state represented by the signal.

18. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental state must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.

19. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to:

detect a request to open a voice channel in response to the communication; and

establish the voice channel using the wireless device.

20. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.

21. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.

22. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.

23. An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising:

determining whether a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of a wireless device has been detected at the wireless device;

comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable rules at the wireless device;

if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules, generating, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network;

detecting a request to modify the programmable rules;

determining whether parameters for a rule have been received; and

if the parameters have been received, modifying the rules, wherein modifying the rules comprises adding a new rule based on the received parameters.

24. The article of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising identifying the environmental state represented by the signal.

25. The article of claim 24, wherein identifying the environmental state represented by the signal comprises:

determining an environmental condition associated with the state; and

determining a level of the environmental condition.

26. The article of claim 23, wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.

27. The article of claim 23, wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.

28. The article of claim 23, wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental state must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.

29. The article of claim 23, wherein the instructions are further operable to cause one or more machines to perform operations comprising:

detecting a request to open a voice channel in response to the communication; and

establishing the voice channel using the wireless device.

30. A framework for wireless sensor alerts, the framework comprising:

a rule set comprising programmable rules that specify conditions under which communications are to be sent based on an environmental state in the vicinity of a wireless device and the communications to be sent;

a rule engine operable to;

receive a proposition for a rule, the proposition representing an environmental state in the vicinity of a wireless device,

compare the proposition against the rules, and

if the proposition satisfies a condition of at least one of the rules, determine, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network; and

a rule editor operable to modify the rules in the rule set based on received rule parameters, the operations comprising;

detecting a request to modify the programmable rules;

determining whether parameters for a rule have been received; and

if the parameters have been received, modifying the rules, wherein modifying the rules comprises adding a new rule based on the received parameters.

31. The framework of claim 30, wherein the environmental state comprises an environmental condition and a level of the environmental condition.

32. The framework of claim 30, wherein at least one of the rules has multiple conditions that must be satisfied.

33. The framework of claim 30, wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.

34. The framework of claim 30, wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental state must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.

35. A system for wireless sensor alerts, the system comprising:

a wireless network operable to receive communications from and send communications to wireless telephones;

a first wireless telephone operable to wirelessly send communications to and receive communications from the wireless network, the wireless telephone comprising;

a sensor operable to detect an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless telephone and to generate a signal representative thereof,

a microprocessor coupled to the sensor, the microprocessor operable to;

detect the signal;

generate a rule proposition based on the signal, the proposition specifying an environmental condition and level associated with the state;

compare the rule proposition to rules in a remotely programmable rule database to determine whether the proposition satisfies a condition of a rule;

if the proposition satisfies a condition of a rule, determine, based on the satisfied rule, a message for communication to a second wireless telephone;

determine whether a communication regarding opening a voice channel in response to the message has been received from the second wireless telephone;

if the communication has been received, open a voice channel to the second wireless telephone;

detect a request to modify the programmable rules;

determine whether parameters for a rule have been received; and

if the parameters have been received, modify the rules, and

a transceiver coupled to the processor, the transceiver operable to send the message to the wireless network; and

the second wireless telephone, the second wireless telephone operable to wirelessly send communications to and receive communications from the wireless network, the wireless telephone operable to;

receive the message from the first wireless telephone,

visually present the message,

determine whether a user desires to open a voice channel to the first wireless telephone in response to the message,

if a user desires to open a voice channel in response to the message, send the communication regarding opening a voice channel to the wireless network for communication to the first wireless telephone,

visually present a user interface for modifying the rules,

detect user commands indicating parameters for a rule, and

send a communication containing the parameters to the wireless network for conveyance to the first wireless telephone.