Sensor network system

• US 9,516,699 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2013
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan), Micromachine Center
• Original Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan), Micromachine Center
• Inventors: Okada, Hironao, Itoh, Toshihiro, Arakawa, Masao, Sakamizu, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Zaidi, Iqbal
• Application Number:
  US14/436,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20150257203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 370328-448, 701/12, 701/200
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 15/00 Arrangements characterised by the use of multiplexing for the transmission of a plurality of signals over a common path
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 15/06 successively, i.e. using time division
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/00 Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/10 using a centralized architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/82 where the sensing device takes the initiative of sending data
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/823 where the data is sent when the measured values exceed a threshold, e.g. sending an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/88 Providing power supply at the sub-station
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A sensor network system is provided with a plurality of sensor terminals disposed in a predetermined area, and a monitoring center device that collects sensing data wirelessly transmitted from each of the plurality of sensor terminals. The sensor terminals wirelessly and intermittently transmit a transmission signal including sensor identification information and the latest sensing data from the sensors. The monitoring center device has the function of acquiring positional information of the sensor terminals in the predetermined area, and accumulates each item of the sensing data from the sensor terminals as time-series data in association with information about the time of acquisition. On the basis of the positional information of the sensor terminals and the time-series data of the accumulated sensing data, a time-series variation of an environmental element in the predetermined area is visually presented. The sensor network system enables monitoring of detailed environmental changes corresponding to differences in position.

Claims

1. A sensor network system comprising:

a plurality of sensor terminals which are driven with a stand-alone power supply and provided in a predetermined area in which one or more sensors are connected to each of the sensor terminals provided at a predetermined position in the predetermined area to wirelessly transmit sensing data of one or more environmental elements sensed with the one or more sensors; and

a monitoring center device collecting the sensing data wirelessly transmitted from the sensor terminals,

each of the sensor terminals having a wireless transmitter that wirelessly and intermittently transmits its terminal identification information, sensor identification information identifying each type of the one or more sensors and latest sensing data sensed by each of the one or more sensors,

the monitoring center device comprising;

a processor that acquires positional information of the sensor terminals in the predetermined area;

a memory that accumulates time-series data of the sensing data transmitted from the sensor terminals as corresponding to acquisition times of the sensing data; and

a display that displays a visualized time-series variation of the sensing data of the one or more environmental elements detected by the one or more sensors in the predetermined area by using the positional information of the sensor terminals and the time-series data of the sensing data,

wherein the monitoring center device regards a receiving time of a transmission signal including the sensing data as the acquisition time of the sensing data to accumulate the sensing data, and the transmission signal does not include the acquisition time of the sensing data.

2. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission signal does not include any synchronization information and the transmission signal is constantly monitored to detect the receiving time of the transmission signal at a receiving side.

3. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein at least three relay devices are provided in the predetermined area, each of the relay devices comprises:

a radio field intensity detector that detects a radio field intensity of a receiving time of the transmission signal; and

a relay transmitter that transfers information of the radio field intensity together with the terminal identification information, the sensor identification information and the sensing data to the monitoring center device,

wherein the processor acquires an estimated position of the sensor terminal identified by the terminal identification information from the information of the radio field intensity included in signals, which include the same terminal identification information, the same sensor identification information and the same sensing data among transferred signals transferred from said at least three relay devices.

4. The sensor network system according to claim 3, wherein each of the relay devices has a receiving time detector that detects the receiving time of the transmission signal,

the relay transmitter transfers information of the receiving time together with the terminal identification information, the sensor identification information, the sensing data and the information of the radio field intensity to the monitoring center device, and

the monitoring center device regards the receiving time as the acquisition time of the sensing data to accumulate the sensing data.

5. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein at least three relay devices are provided in the predetermined area, each of the relay devices comprising:

a receiving time detector that detects a receiving time of the transmission signal; and

a relay transmitter that transfers information of the receiving time together with the terminal identification information, the sensor identification information and the sensing data to the monitoring center device,

the monitoring center device regards the receiving time as the acquisition time of the sensing data to accumulate the sensing data, and

the monitoring center device acquiring an estimated position of the sensor terminal identified by the terminal identification information according to a time difference between the receiving times included in signals which include the same terminal identification information, the same sensor identification information and the same sensing data among the transferred signals transferred from said at least three relay devices.

6. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the sensor terminals has a random value generating processor, which generates a random value employed to decide a starting time of the intermittent wireless transmission.

7. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the sensor terminals detects a predetermined event according to the sensing data, and wirelessly transmits the transmission signal when the predetermined event occurs, regardless of a timing of the intermittent wireless transmission.

8. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the sensor terminals detects a predetermined event according to the sensing data, changes a cycle of the intermittent wireless transmission and wirelessly transmits the transmission signal when the predetermined event occurs.

9. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the sensor terminals wirelessly transmits the same transmission signal in a first frequency band and a second frequency band per each wireless transmission.

10. The sensor network system according to claim 9, wherein the sensor terminal wirelessly transmits the same transmission signal in the first frequency band of a time interval and the second frequency band of another time interval.

11. The sensor network system according to claim 9, wherein the sensor terminal wirelessly transmits the same transmission signal simultaneously in the first frequency band and the second frequency band.

12. The sensor network system according to claim 1, wherein each of the sensor terminals has a modulator that modulates transmission data by a modulation method to allocate different wireless transmission frequencies to different transmission data.

13. The sensor network system according to claim 12, wherein the modulator decides a spread code according to the transmission data and decides a wireless transmission frequency allocated to a chip code value of the spread code.