Apparatus and method for controlling environmental conditions in a data center using wireless mesh networks

• US 8,538,584 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2008
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vigilent Corporation
• Original Assignee: Synapsense Corporation (Panduit Corporation)
• Inventors: Pandey, Raju, Pfeifer, Ray
• Primary Examiner(s): HARTMAN JR, RONALD D
• Application Number:
  US12/317,984
• Publication Number:
  US 20120109404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 700275-277, 700299-300
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/00 Control of temperature
• 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 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: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Various embodiments provide an apparatus and method for controlling environmental conditions in a data center using wireless mesh networks. An example embodiment includes receiving an alert message from a reporting wireless network sensor of a plurality of wireless network sensors via a wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of a modification needed to an environmental condition; and using the information indicative of a modification needed to an environmental condition at a networked controller to command a device capable of modifying the environmental condition to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining one or more influence zones, a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones including information identifying one or more networked controllers that can control a device capable of modifying an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

receiving an alert message from a reporting wireless network sensor via a wireless sensor network, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in wireless data communication, each wireless network sensor being configured to sense at least one environmental condition and configured to route data to and from other wireless network sensors of the wireless sensor network, the alert message being routed from the reporting wireless network sensor to a gateway by transiting through at least one intermediate stationary wireless network sensor of the wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of to modification needed to an environmental condition;

using the influence one information to determine which one of the one or more networked controllers can control a device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone; and

using the information indicative of a modification needed to an environmental condition at a networked controller to command the device capable of modifying, the environmental condition within the particular influence zone to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 including receiving feedback information from the reporting wireless network sensor after the network controller has commanded the device capable of modifying the environmental condition.

3. The method a claimed in claim 1 wherein the device capable of modifying the environmental condition is a cooling unit.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the environmental condition is a temperature.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the environmental condition is a pressure.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 including receiving the alert message from the gateway.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 including determining if the environmental condition is within prescribed limits.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 including

commanding the device to modify a fan speed.

9. A method comprising:

defining one or more influence zones, a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones including information identifying one or more networked controllers that can control a device capable of modifying an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

sensing an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

using the influence zone information to determine which one of the one or more networked controllers can control a device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone; and

sending an alert message, via a wireless sensor network, to a network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in wireless data communication, each wireless network sensor being configured to sense at least one environmental condition and configured to route data to and from other wireless network sensors of the wireless sensor network, the alert message being routed to the network controller by transiting through at least one intermediate stationary wireless network sensor of the wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition, the information indicative of as modification needed to the environmental condition being used to command the device capable of modifying the environmental condition to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9 including sending feedback information to the network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone after the network controller has commanded the device capable of modifying the environmental condition.

11. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the device capable of modifying the environmental condition is a cooling unit.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the environmental condition is a temperature.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the environmental condition is a pressure.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9 including sending the alert message via a gateway in the wireless sensor network.

15. The method as claimed in claim 9 including determining if the environmental condition is within prescribed limits.

16. A networked sensing device comprising:

a storage component to store information related to one or more influence zones, a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones including information identifying one or more networked controllers that can control as device capable of modifying an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

a sensing component to sense an environmental condition within the particular influence zone, the sensing component using the influence zone information to determine which one of the one or more networked controllers can control a device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone; and

a network communication component to send an alert message, via a wireless sensor network, to a network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in wireless data communication, each wireless network sensor being configured to sense at least one environmental condition and configured to route data to and from other wireless network sensors of the wireless sensor network, the alert message being routed to the network controller by transiting through at least one intermediate stationary wireless network sensor of the wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition, the information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition being used to command the device capable of modifying the environmental condition to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

17. The networked sensing device as claimed in claim 16 being further configured to send feedback information to the network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone after the network controller has commanded the device capable of modifying the environmental condition.

18. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having machine executable instructions embedded thereon, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

store information related to one or more influence zones, a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones including information identifying one or more networked controllers that can control as device capable of modifying an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

sense an environmental condition within the particular influence zone;

use the influence zone information to determine which one of the one or more networked controllers can control a device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone; and

send an alert message, via a wireless sensor network, to a network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, the wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in wireless data communication, each wireless network sensor being configured to sense at least one environmental condition and configured to mute data to and from other wireless network sensors of the wireless sensor network, the alert message being routed to the network controller by transiting through at least one intermediate stationary wireless network sensor of the wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition, the information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition being used to command the device capable of modifying the environmental condition to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

19. The article of manufacture as claimed in claim 18 being further configured to send feedback information to the network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone after the network controller has commanded the device capable of modifying the environmental condition.

20. A system comprising:

a wireless sensor network comprising a plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in wireless data communication, each wireless network sensor being configured to sense at least one environmental condition and configured to route data to and from other wireless network sensors of the wireless sensor network;

one or more networked controllers in data communication via the wireless sensor network, the one or more networked controllers being configured to control a device capable of modifying an environmental condition within a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones; and

the plurality of stationary wireless network sensors in data communication with the one or more networked controllers via the wireless sensor network, each of the plurality of wireless network sensors being configured to stare information related to the one or more influence zones, a particular influence zone of the one or more influence zones including information identifying the one or more networked controllers that can control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, each of the plurality of wireless network sensors being further configured to sense an environmental condition within the particular influence zone and to use the influence zone information to determine which one of the one or more networked controllers can control a device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, and each of the plurality of wireless network sensors being further configured to send an alert message, via the wireless sensor network, to a network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone, the alert message being routed to the network controller by transiting through at least one intermediate stationary wireless network sensor of the wireless sensor network, the alert message including information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition, the information indicative of a modification needed to the environmental condition being used to command the device capable of modifying the environmental condition to modify the environmental condition in a manner corresponding to the information in the alert message.

21. The system as claimed in claim 20 wherein each of the plurality of wireless network sensors being configured to send feedback information to the network controller determined able to control the device capable of modifying the environmental condition within the particular influence zone after the network, controller has commanded the device capable of modifying the environmental condition.