Mesh wireless network for agricultural environment

• US 9,319,903 B1
• Filed: 04/02/2015
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ayrstone Productivity, LLC
• Original Assignee: Ayrstone Productivity, LLC
• Inventors: Moffitt, William Stanley
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Anh Ngoc
• Application Number:
  US14/677,077
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A network for monitoring and controlling agricultural operations employs a wireless mesh network to provide feedback related to an agricultural field located remotely from a computer system/server. In some embodiments, the wireless mesh network may employ for example, the IEEE 802.11s and 802.11n standard to communicate data from a sensor in the agricultural field to and between remote access points in the mesh network.

Claims

1. A network for monitoring and controlling agricultural operations, comprising:

a server;

a router coupled to the server;

a gateway access point coupled to the router;

a plurality of remote access points coupled to the gateway access point and connected to one another in a wireless mesh; and

at least one sensor connected to a first of the plurality of remote access points and configured to provide feedback data related to an agricultural field located remotely from the server, the feedback data being provided through a wireless mesh networking specification standard,

wherein the mesh networking specification standard is IEEE 802.11s,

wherein at least one of the remote access points is physically connected to a first mobile control device configured to move over at least a portion of the agricultural field.

2. The network of claim 1, further comprising a client access point to access the plurality of remote access points, the client access point using a specification standard selected from one or more of IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a wireless sensor.

4. The network of claim 1, further comprising a web browser interface connectable to the first of the plurality of remote access points.

5. The network of claim 1, further comprising an internet connection between the server and the router.

6. The network of claim 5, further comprising a web browser interface to the internet connection, the web browser interface providing access to the feedback data.

8. The network of claim 1, wherein the first mobile control device comprises an onboard controller configured to:

receive instructions related to an action to be taken with respect to the agricultural field, the instructions being received through the wireless mesh networking specification standard; and

cause the first mobile control device to perform the action in response to receiving the instructions.

9. The network of claim 8, wherein the instructions are based on the feedback data provided by the at least one sensor.

10. The network of claim 9, wherein the instructions relate to at least one of:

seeding the agricultural field, spraying the agricultural field, and harvesting the agricultural field.

11. The network of claim 8, wherein the first mobile control device is a self-driving vehicle.

12. The network of claim 8, wherein at least another of the remote access point is physically connected to a second mobile control device configured to move over at least a portion of the agricultural field, wherein the second mobile control device comprises an onboard controller configured to:

receive instructions related to an action to be taken with respect to the agricultural field, the instructions being received through the wireless mesh networking specification standard; and

cause the second mobile control device to perform the action in response to receiving the instructions.

13. The network of claim 12, wherein the first mobile control device and/or the second mobile control device is an unmanned, self-driving vehicle.

14. The network of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is a wireless sensor, and wherein the network further comprises at least another sensor connected to the first plurality of remote access points and/or a second of the plurality of remote access points, the at least another sensor being configured to provide feedback data related to a second agricultural field located remotely from the server.

15. The network of claim 1, wherein at least one of the remote access points is physically connected to a grain dryer, the grain dryer being configured to receive a command signal via the mesh networking specification standard to effectuate operation of the grain dryer.

7. A network for monitoring and controlling agricultural operations, comprising:

a server;

a router coupled to the server;

a gateway access point coupled to the router;

a plurality of remote access points coupled to the gateway access point and connected to one another in a wireless mesh under the IEEE 802.11s standard;

and

at least one wireless sensor connected to a first of the plurality of remote access points and configured to provide feedback data related to an agricultural field located remotely from the server, the feedback data being provided through the wireless mesh under the IEEE 802.11s standard,

wherein at least one of the remote access points is physically connected to a first mobile control device comprising GPS functionality, and at least another of the remote access points is physically connected to a second mobile control device comprising GPS functionality.

16. The network of claim 7, wherein the first mobile control device and/or the second mobile control device is an unmanned, self-driving vehicle.

17. The network of claim 7, wherein the first mobile control device is configured to:

receive instructions related to a first action to be taken with respect to the agricultural field, the instructions being received through the wireless mesh under the IEEE 802.11s standard; and

cause the first mobile control device to perform the first action in response to receiving the instructions, and wherein the second mobile control device is configured to;

receive instructions related to a second action to be taken with respect to the agricultural field, the instructions being received through the wireless mesh under the IEEE 802.11s standard; and

cause the second mobile control device to perform the second action in response to receiving the instructions.

18. A method, comprising:

collecting, at a mobile control device, data relating to an agricultural field;

sending the data to a server located remotely from the agricultural field via a wireless mesh network based on the IEEE 802.11s standard;

receiving instructions related to an action to be taken with respect to the agricultural field via the IEEE 802.11s wireless mesh network; and

performing the action in response to receiving the instructions,

wherein the IEEE 802.11s wireless mesh network comprises;

the server and a plurality of remote access points operatively coupled to one another and to the server, at least one of the remote access points being physically connected to the mobile control device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the mobile control device is a self-driving vehicle.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the mobile control device is configured to move over at least a portion of the agricultural field.