Distance measurement for wireless building automation devices
First Claim
1. A method for determining a distance for a building automation device, the method comprising:
- (a) wirelessly transmitting a first signal from the building automation device within a building, the building automation device being associated with the automated control of a building environment;
(b) wirelessly receiving a second signal at the building automation device within the building;
(c) inserting a set time delay between (a) and (b); and
(d) determining a distance associated with the building automation device as a function of the set time delay and time-of-flight for the first and second signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a building environment, a distance associated with a building automation device is determined as a function of an inserted time delay between a wireless transmission of a signal and wireless reception of another signal. For example, a two-way communication is provided with a time delay inserted before responding to a received transmission. By using two-way transmissions, the building automation devices may be free of clock synchronization. Acoustic signals may be used in a building environment to determine a distance. The building automation device may also use radio frequency information for communicating with other devices. Communication between devices allows a controller to coordinate the determination of distances associated with different devices within a network, such as through transmission of a test signal and assigning distance measurement operations to devices that receive the test signal with sufficient strength or other characteristics.
59 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for determining a distance for a building automation device, the method comprising:
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(a) wirelessly transmitting a first signal from the building automation device within a building, the building automation device being associated with the automated control of a building environment; (b) wirelessly receiving a second signal at the building automation device within the building; (c) inserting a set time delay between (a) and (b); and
(d) determining a distance associated with the building automation device as a function of the set time delay and time-of-flight for the first and second signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for determining a distance for building automation components, the system comprising:
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a first building automation device having a first wireless transmitter, a first wireless receiver and a first processor; a second building automation device having a second wireless transmitter, a second wireless receiver and a second processor, the first and second building automation devices being operable to operate in an integrated manner to implement building automation related control functions; wherein the first wireless transmitter is operable to transmit a first signal, the second wireless receiver is operable to receive the first signal, the second wireless transmitter is operable to transmit a second signal in response to reception of the first signal, the second processor is operable to insert a set time delay between reception of the first signal and transmission of the second signal, the first wireless receiver operable to receive the second signal, and the first processor operable to determine a distance between the first and second building automation devices as a function of the set time delay and time from transmission of the first signal to reception of the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for determining a distance for a building automation device, the method comprising:
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(a) transmitting a first acoustic signal from a first speaker of a first building automation device within a building; (b) receiving the first acoustic signal with a first microphone of a second building automation device within the building, the first and second building automation devices being associated with the automated control of a building environment; (c) determining a distance from the first speaker to the first microphone; (d) transmitting a second acoustic signal from a second speaker, the second speaker collocated with the first microphone; and (e) receiving the second acoustic signal with a second microphone, the second microphone collocated with the first speaker; wherein (d) is performed in response to (b) after a set time delay, and wherein (c) comprises determining the distance as a function of time from (a) until (e) and the set time delay. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for determining distances in a wireless building automation network, the system comprising:
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a plurality of spaced apart building automation devices; and a controller operable to control an environment of a building via wireless communication with the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices; wherein the controller is operable to cause a first one of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices to transmit a test ranging signal, assign one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices to the first one of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices as a function of reception by the one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices of the test ranging signal, and cause distances from the first one to the assigned one or more of the plurality of spaced apart building automation devices to be determined.
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Specification