Sensor-net systems and its application systems for locationing

• US 7,675,410 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Aritsuka, Toshiyuki, Ohkubo, Norio
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thompson; Bradley E
• Application Number:
  US11/797,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20080164997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 455/456.1, 370/310
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The position of a node is identified. There is provided a module for identifying the position of a node using a locator node that sniffs communication of the node in a sensor network system capable of continuously tracking a situational change in the state, position or the like of people or an object.

Claims

1. A sensor-net system, comprising:

a node including a sensor for obtaining a sensing data, a first controller that generates a first transmit data including the sensing data and a node ID information, and a first wireless processor that transmits the first transmit data to a base station;

a locator node including a second wireless processor that sniffs a transmit data from the node to the base station when the node exists in a detection area of the locator node, and a second controller that extracts a node ID information from the transmit data and generates a second transmit data including the extracted node ID information and a locator node ID information;

a base station including a node communication processor that receives the first transmit data and extracts the first node ID information when the node exists in a communication area of the base station, and receives the second transmit data and extracts the extracted node ID information and the locator node ID information when the second transmit data is transmitted from the locator node, and a node manager that transmits to a server the ID information extracted from at least one of the first transmit data and the second transmit data; and

a server including an event-action manager that receives the ID information, a recording part that records in a locator node position table that relates the locator node ID information to a position of the locator node, and a database manager that identifies the position of a node existing in at least one of the detection area and the communication area, using the received ID information and the locator node position table.

2. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

when the node exists within a communication area of the base station and within a detection area of the locator node,

the node communication processor receives the first and second transmit data, and

when the first and the second node ID information are the same, the database manager regards the position of the locator node as the position of the node and relates the position of the node to the sensing data.

3. The sensor-net system according to claim 2, wherein

the node communication processor converts, using an address conversion table, the first and second node ID information into first and second node global addresses indicative of the node ID in the sensor-net system, and the locator node ID information into a locator node global address indicative of the ID of the locator node in the sensor-net system,

the node manager transmits the first and second node global addresses and the locator node global address to the event-action manager,

the event-action manager receives the first and the second node global addresses and the locator node global address, and

when the first and second node global addresses are the same, the database manager relates the locator node global address to the position of the locator node.

4. The sensor-net system according to claim 3, wherein

the server manages a plurality of base stations,

the plurality of base stations each have a network ID that identifies a network comprising the base station, a node and a locator node which the base station manages,

the node ID information and the locator node ID information include a network ID of a network to which the node and the locator node belong, and

when the respective network IDs of the node and the locator node extracted from the node ID information and the locator node ID information are the same as a network ID of the base station, the respective node communication processors of the plurality of above-described base stations carry out the above-described conversion.

5. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

when the node exists within a communication area of the base station and does not exist within a detection area of the locator node,

the node communication processor receives the first transmit data,

the event-action manager determines that the second node ID information that is the same as a received first node ID information does not exist,

the command manager transmits to the sensor node manager an instruction for changing the detection area, wherein

the second wireless processor receives the instruction through the node communication processor, and

the second controller controls the second wireless processor based on the instruction, and thereby the second wireless processor sniffs the first transmit data.

6. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

when a node exists in a area where detection areas of a plurality of locator nodes overlap to each other, and

when the plurality of locator nodes sniff a transmit data from the node to the base station,

the database manager selects one locator node based on a history that the plurality of locator nodes that are recorded in the recording part detected the node, and identifies the position of the node based on a locator node ID information of the selected locator node.

7. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

the locator node includes a sniff mode for sniffing the transmit data, a detection processing mode for extracting the node ID information, and a communication mode for transmitting the second transmit data, and

when the locator node sniffs the transmit data in the sniff mode by the second controller controlling the second wireless processor, it changes to the detection processing mode, and when the locator node extracts the node ID information, it changes to the communication mode, and after transmitting the second transmit data, the locator node changes to the sniff mode.

8. The sensor-net system according to claim 7, wherein

when the locator node extracts the same node ID information within a predetermined time in the detection processing mode after changing to the sniff mode, it changes to the sniff mode, and

when the locator node did not extract the same node ID information within the predetermined time from the latest time point that it extracted the same node ID information, it transmits to the base station an information indicative of departure from the detection area of the node.

9. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

when a radio field strength of radio wave with which the second wireless processor sniffed the transmit data exceeds a predetermined value,

the second controller extracts the second node ID information from the sniffed transmit data.

10. The sensor-net system according to claim 1, wherein

the second wireless processor includes an amplifier for amplifying a radio field strength of receiving radio wave,

the amplifier amplifies a radio field strength of radio wave, with which the second wireless processor sniffed the transmit data, with a predetermined amplification factor, and

the second controller extracts the second node ID information from the sniffed transmit data when the amplified radio field strength exceeds a predetermined value.

11. The sensor-net system according to claim 7, wherein

the node further includes an actuator that generates a predetermined information before transmitting the first transmit data, and

the locator node detects the predetermined information by means of a detection unit and starts the sniff mode.

12. A sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium for causing a locator node to execute a sensor-net locationing method, the program causing the locator node to execute steps of:

when a node exists in a detection area of the locator node, sniffing a first transmit data including a sensing data and node ID information that are transmitted from the node to a base station;

extracting the node ID information from the first transmit data, and generating a second transmit data including the extracted node ID information and locator node ID information; and

with the use of the first transmit data, the first node ID information extracted from the second transmit data, the extracted node ID information and the locator node ID information, and a locator node position table that relates the locator node ID information to the position of the locator node, transmitting the generated second transmit data to a base station connected to a server that relates the position of the node to the sensing data.

13. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 12, wherein the locator node has a sniff mode for sniffing the transmit data, a detection processing mode for extracting the node ID information, and a communication mode for transmitting the second transmit data, the program causing the locator node to execute step of changing to the detection processing mode upon sniffing the transmit data in the sniff mode, changing to the communication mode upon extraction of the node ID information, and changing to the sniff mode after transmitting.

14. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 13, the program causing the locator node to execute steps of:

changing to the sniff mode when the locator node extracts the same node ID information within a predetermined time in the detection processing mode after changing to the sniff mode; and

transmitting to the base station an information indicative of departure from the detection area of the node when the locator node does not extract the same node ID information within the predetermined time from the latest time point that the locator node extracted the same node ID information.

15. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 12, the program causing the locator node to execute step of when a radio field strength of radio wave with which the locator node sniffed the transmit data exceeds a predetermined value, extracting the second node ID information from the sniffed transmit data.

16. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 12, the program causing the locator node to execute steps of:

amplifying a radio field strength of radio wave, with which the locator node sniffed the transmit data, with a predetermined amplification factor; and

extracting the second node ID information from the sniffed transmit data when the amplified radio field strength exceeds a predetermined value.

17. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 13, the program causing the locator node to execute step of detecting predetermined information and starting the sniff mode before the first transmit data is transmitted in the node.

18. A sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium for causing a base station to execute a sensor-net locationing method, the program being for causing the base station to execute steps of:

receiving a first transmit data including a sensing data and a first node ID information transmitted from a node, and a second transmit data including a extracted node ID information and a locator node ID information transmitted from a locator node; and

with the use of an ID information extracted from the first and second transmit data, and a locator node position table that relates the locator node ID information to a position of the locator node, transmitting the ID information to a server that relates the position of the node to the sensing data.

19. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 18, the program causing the base station to execute steps of:

converting the first and second node ID information into first and second node global addresses indicative of an ID of the node in a sensor-net system, and converting the locator node local address into a locator node global address indicative of an ID of the locator node in the sensor-net system; and

when the first and second node global address are the same, transmitting the first an second node global addresses and the locator node global address to the server that relates the locator node global address to the position of the locator node.

20. The sensor-net locationing program stored on a computer readable medium according to claim 19, wherein the server manages a plurality of base stations, the plurality of base stations each have a network ID that identifies a network comprising the base station, a node and a locator node which the base station manages, the node ID information and the locator node ID information include a network ID of a network to which the node and the locator node belong, and when the respective network ID'"'"'s of the node and the locator node extracted from the node ID information and the locator node ID information are the same as a network ID of the base station, the plurality of above-described base stations each carry out the above-described conversion.