Mote servicing

• US 8,132,059 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2010
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Levien, Royce A., Lord, Robert W., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr., Jung, Edward K. Y
• Primary Examiner(s): GUYTON, PHILIP A
• Application Number:
  US12/849,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20110057793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 714/44, 714/47, 714/48, 714/57, 340/635
• US Class Current: 714/47.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

One aspect can include determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced, and determining at least partially using the at least one mote device that is operationally located within a mote network is not meeting a goal of the at least one mote device with respect to the mote network and should be serviced. Another aspect can include determining that at least one mote device should undergo routine servicing and configuring the at least one mote device to indicate the at least one mote device should undergo the routine servicing.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced; and

indicating, using at least one of a stable shape or a stable change of the stable shape of the at least one mote device, that the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially in response to the determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises;

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a stable change in conformation of the at least one mote device, wherein the stable change in conformation of the at least one mote device includes at least one of changing a height of at least a portion of the at least one mote device above a surface, extending a signal flag from the at least one mote, or moving two portions of the mote device into an open clam-shell configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining at least partially that one or more mote devices, which are operationally located within a mote network and which are at least part of the at least one mote device, are not meeting a goal of the at least one mote device with respect to the mote network and should be serviced.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be reconfigured.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be discarded.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be collected.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be replaced.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be repaired in situ.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be recharged, the recharging including transmitting an electromagnetic signal to the at least one mote device and recharging a power source of the at least one mote device with power from the electromagnetic signal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be operationally transferred from a first mote network to a second mote network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device does not have access to a sufficient power to operate properly and should be serviced.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that a battery that provides power to the at least one mote device does not provide a sufficient power to the at least one mote device for the at least one mote device to operate properly, and should be serviced.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that the at least one mote device does not have adequate data storage capabilities to operate properly, and should be serviced.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced comprises:

determining that a computation time of the at least one mote device exceeds a prescribed duration, and should be serviced.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a status indicator operationally associated with the at least one mote device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a position of the at least one mote device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a change in color of the at least one mote device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a light signal of the at least one mote device, the light signal having a frequency that renders the light signal invisible to the naked human eye, but visible to a service device.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using an auditory signal of the at least one mote device, the auditory signal having a frequency that renders the auditory signal inaudible to an unaided human ear, but audible to a service device.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially using a vibration of the at least one mote device.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced using at least one chemical tag or at least one fluorescent tag.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced to at least one other mote device.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced to a servicing device.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises:

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced to a controller device.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing at least one parameter using the at least one mote device.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

actuating at least a portion of at least one other device using the at least one mote device.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying an image at least partially using the at least one mote device, the displaying of the image including a given mote device of the at least one mote device actuating one or more colors of one or more pixels of the image.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a sensed condition of the at least one mote device.

29. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a sensed error condition of the at least one mote device.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a sensed diagnostic test failure of the at least one mote device.

15. A method, comprising:

determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced; and

indicating, using at least one of a stable shape or a stable change of the stable shape of the at least one mote device, that the at least one mote device is to be serviced at least partially in response to the determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced,

wherein the indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced comprises;

indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced, the indicating being performed by filling at least a portion of the at least one mote device with a liquid to stably change the stable shape of the at least one mote device from a flat shape to an oval or round shape.

31. A method, comprising:

determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced; and

at least partially in response to the determining, indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced, the indicating including at least one of flipping or rotating the at least one mote device.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein at least partially in response to the determining, indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced, the indicating including at least one of flipping or rotating the at least one mote device comprises:

at least partially in response to the determining, indicating the at least one mote device is to be serviced, the indicating including flipping the at least one mote device to reveal a first surface of the at least one mote device and to at least partially hide a second surface of the at least one mote device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the first surface comprises a first color and the second surface comprises a second color that is different from the first color.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the at least one of the flipping or the rotating of the at least one mote device is performed in response to a signal received by the at least one mote device from a service device.

35. One or more non-transitory device-readable storage media storing device-readable instructions that, when executed, perform a process comprising:

determining that at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced;

indicating that the at least one mote device is to be serviced, the indicating performed at least partially using at least one of a stable change in conformation of the at least one mote device, wherein the stable change in conformation of the at least one mote device includes at least one of changing a height of at least a portion of the at least one mote device above a surface, extending a signal flag from the at least one mote, or moving two portions of the mote device into an open clam-shell configuration; and

wherein the indicating that the at least one mote device is to be serviced is at least partially in response to the determining that the at least one mote device is operating outside normal operational parameters and should be serviced.