Configuring a set of devices of a structure

• US 9,575,478 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2013
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Building Robotics, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Enlighted, Inc. (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Ericsson, Bo E., Mohan, Tanuj, Gupta, Saurabh
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Kenneth M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Yuhui R
• Application Number:
  US14/040,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20140031987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,242 Days
• Field of Search: 700/275, 315/154, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/16 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/175 by remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/199 Commissioning of light sources

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatuses for configuring a set of devices of a structure are disclosed. One method includes loading a structure plan to a mobile computing device, wherein the structure plan is associated with the structure, communicating, by the mobile computing device, with one or more of the set of devices, communicating, by each of the one or more of the set of devices, a device identifier and proximity dependent information of the device back to the mobile computing device, wherein the proximity dependent information allows the mobile computing device to estimate a proximate location of the device, and placing, by the mobile computing device, each of the one or more of the set of devices on the structure floor plan based at least in part on the proximity dependent information.

Claims

1. A method of configuring a set of fixed devices of a structure, comprising:

loading a structure floor plan to a mobile computing device, wherein the structure floor plan is associated with the structure, and wherein the structure floor plan provides approximate placement of the set of fixed devices within the structure, but does not include complete information of which fixed devices are placed at one or more approximate placement locations within the structure;

communicating, by the mobile computing device, with one or more of the set of fixed devices, wherein the set of fixed devices each have a fixed location within the structure;

communicating, by each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices, a device identifier and a proximity dependent information of the fixed device back to the mobile computing device, wherein the proximity dependent information of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices allows the mobile computing device to estimate a proximate location of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices;

placing, by the mobile computing device, each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices on the structure floor plan based at least in part on the proxmity dependent information, wherein the placing supplements the structure floor plan with information about which fixed devices are placed at which of the one or more approximate placement locations of the loaded structure floor plan of the structure; and

providing an in-range list of fixed devices on a user-interface of the mobile computing device based on the estimated proximate location of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices, wherein the user interface allows a user to select a fixed device from the list, and further, communicate a command to the fixed device, wherein the fixed device provides a user-observable feedback in response to being selected, wherein observable feedback allows the user to identify and confirm the placement of the fixed device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of fixed devices are listed in an estimated order of proximity to the mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the mobile computing device uploading the placement and identification of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices on the structure floor plan to a central server.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising supplementing the placement of one or more of the set of fixed devices on the structure floor plan through activation of a user-selected fixed device of the one or more of the set of fixed devices.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user-interface that depicts at least a portion of the structure floor plan and at least a portion of the set of fixed devices, and further depicts the user-selected fixed device, and further facilitates communication to the user-selected fixed device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the observable feedback is visual, audible, or physical.

7. The method claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device communicates with the one or more of the set of fixed devices through a wireless channel that a central server or a gateway uses to communicate with each of the set of fixed devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising physically transporting the mobile computing device about the structure, and the mobile computing device communicating with one or more of the set of fixed devices.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity dependent information includes a received signal strength of communication received by the fixed device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the proximity dependent information includes a Link Quality Indicator of communication received by the fixed device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the device identifier includes a MAC address of the fixed device.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising designating at least a portion of the set of fixed devices as repeater devices, wherein repeater devices receive communication signals from either a gateway or another repeater device, and transmit the communication signals to another fixed device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the gateway device is located on the floor plan, and the portion of the set of fixed devices are designated as repeater devices based on a proximity of the portion of the set of fixed devices relative to the gateway.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of fixed devices includes lighting fixtures and sensors.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a transmit power of the communication by the mobile computing device, thereby adjusting a number of the one or more of the set of fixed devices that respond to the communication by the mobile computing device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a timing of the communication by each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices is selected based on a media access control (MAC) address of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices.

17. A mobile computing device configuring a set of fixed devices of a structure, wherein the mobile computing device is operative to:

upload a structure floor plan, wherein the structure floor plan is associated with the structure, and wherein the structure floor plan provides approximate placement of the set of fixed devices within the structure, but does not include complete information of which fixed devices are placed at one or more approximate placement location within the structure;

communicate with one or more of the set of fixed devices, wherein the set of fixed devices each have a fixed location within the structure;

receive from each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices, a device identifier and proximity dependent information of the fixed device, wherein the proximity dependent information allows the mobile computing device to estimate a proximate location of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices;

place each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices on the structure floor plan based at least in part on the proximity dependent information, wherein the placing supplements the structure floor plan with information about which fixed devices are placed at which of the one or more approximate placement locations of the loaded structure floor plan of the structure; and

provide an in-range list of fixed devices on a user-interface of the mobile computing device based on the estimated proximate location of each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices, wherein the user interface allows the user to select a fixed device from the list, and further, communicate a command to the fixed device, wherein the fixed device provides a user-observable feedback in response to being selected, wherein observable feedback allows the user to identify and confirm the placement of the fixed device.

18. The mobile communication device of claim 17, further comprising adjusting a transmit power level of the communicating with the one or more of the set of fixed devices, thereby adjusting a number of the one or more of the set of fixed devices that receive the communication from the mobile communication device.

19. The mobile communication device of claim 17, wherein a timing of the communicating received back from each of the one or more of the set of fixed devices is based at least in part on a media access control (MAC) address of the fixed device.