Demand/response mechanism in a wireless sensor network

• US 9,714,843 B1
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Inventors: Stamatakis, Julien G., Al-Momen, Serene
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LEON VIET Q
• Application Number:
  US14/945,506
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00842 the system comprising a plurality of damper doors; Air distribution between several outlets
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/0001 for ventilation F24F11/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/006 Remote reading of utility meters to a non-fixed location, i.e. mobile location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/00 Electric signal transmission systems G08C17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40228 Modbus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/04 Network management architectures or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/10 : using a centralized architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 : using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 : using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 : for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/80 : Arrangements in the sub-station, i.e. sensing device
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/82 : where the sensing device takes the initiative of sending data
• 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 24/02 : Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/06 : between gateways and public network devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 : Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A wireless sensor network at a monitored location can be configured to generate sensor channel(s) of data to assess operational conditions at the monitored location. Inputs based on the sensor channel(s) of data are provided to a host system for analysis of a demand to one or more resources at the monitored location. Response messages can be generated based on the demand analysis and transmitted to actuator(s) at the monitored location to effect an adjustment to the operational conditions.

Claims

1. A device at a monitored location, comprising:

a wireless node having a first housing that encloses a wireless transceiver, which communicates with a gateway device via wireless communication, one or more sensors that perform measurements at the monitored location and a first controller that initiates transmission of sensor data generated from the measurements to the gateway device via the wireless transceiver for delivery to a host system remote from the monitored location, wherein the first housing exposes a connector interface; and

an actuator module having a second housing that encloses a second controller, wherein the second housing exposes a connector for removable insertion into the connector interface exposed by the first housing, the insertion of the connector into the connector interface joining the actuator module with the wireless node to form the device and configured to create a wired communication interface having a serial data connection and a serial clock connection between the actuator module and the wireless node, the actuator module also having a wired control interface with an actuator device at the monitored location, the wired communication interface enabling the first controller in the wireless node to transfer control information to the second controller in the actuator module, the control information derived from a control message received by the wireless node from the gateway device, wherein the second controller in the actuator module initiates a generation of a response action control signal based on the control information, the response action control signal transmitted via the wired control interface to the actuator device for use by the actuator device to control a physical environment condition at the monitored location.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver communicates with the gateway device using the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the wired communication interface includes data in, data out, clock, and device select connections.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the response action control signal is used by the actuator device to adjust a consumption of a resource at the monitored location.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the response action control signal is used by the actuator device to control a status of a measurable physical condition at the monitored location.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the measurable physical condition is an environmental condition.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the measurable physical condition is a usage condition.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein measurements by the one or more sensors are used to generate the control message.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the second housing of the actuator module further encloses a second set of one or more sensors, wherein measurements by the second set of one or more sensors are used to generate the control message.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a second module having a third housing that encloses a third controller, wherein the third housing exposes a second connector for removable insertion into a second connector interface exposed by the first housing, the third housing of the second module further enclosing a second set of one or more sensors, wherein measurements by the second set of one or more sensors are used to generate the control message.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors includes a temperature sensor.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors includes a humidity sensor.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors includes a sensor that measures a health or status of the wireless node.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more sensors includes a sensor that measures a battery voltage.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more sensors includes a sensor that measures a wireless link quality.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the response action control signal is configured to provide a visual alert on a display.