System, method and apparatus for sensor activation

• US 9,888,336 B1
• Filed: 05/04/2016
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Inventors: Stamatakis, Julien G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Soe, Kyaw Z
• Application Number:
  US15/145,884
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• 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 configured mode of operation of a wireless sensor node unit can selectively activate a first subset of sensor channels of data and selectively deactivate a second subset of sensor channels of data. The configured mode of operation customizes the sensor functionality in the wireless sensor node unit in support of the delivery of data streams to customers.

Claims

1. A sensor node device, comprising:

a sensor module having a plurality of sensors that enables monitoring of a corresponding plurality of sensor data points in an environment of a monitored location in which the sensor node device is installed; and

a node module supporting a wireless transceiver, the node module connected to the sensor module via a wired communication interface that enables transmission, from the sensor module to the node module, of a plurality of sensor channels of data based on the monitoring of the plurality of sensor data points by the plurality of sensors in the sensor module, the sensor node device configured to receive via the wireless transceiver one or more remote configuration commands from a gateway device at the monitored location, the one or more remote configuration commands generated in response to a user request for sensor services and used by the sensor node device to produce a customized sensor configuration where a first of the plurality of sensor channels of data associated with a first of the plurality of sensors is activated and a second of the plurality of sensor channels of data associated with a second of the plurality of sensors is deactivated, wherein the customized sensor configuration limits the passage of sensor channels of data carried over the wired communication interface to the activated sensor channels of data identified by the one or more remote configuration command, the node module directing a transmission of sensor data for the activated sensor channels of data received via the wired communication interface to the gateway device via the wireless transceiver for delivery to a host system remote from the monitored location.

2. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication transceiver is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

3. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the wired communication interface includes a first connection for clock signaling and a second connection for data signaling.

4. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from taking sensor measurements.

5. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein sensor data from the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from retrieval.

6. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the monitored location is a building.

7. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the monitored location is a movable area of control.

8. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the sensor module is enclosed in a first housing and the node module is enclosed in a second housing.

17. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors are environmental sensors.

18. The sensor node device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes multiple sensors of the same type.

9. A sensor node device, comprising:

a sensor module having a first printed circuit board configured to support a plurality of sensors that enables monitoring a corresponding plurality of sensor data points in an environment of a monitored location in which the sensor node device is installed; and

a battery operated node module having a second printed circuit board and supporting a wireless transceiver, the battery operated node module connected to the sensor module via a wired communication interface that enables transmission, from the sensor module to the node module, of a plurality of sensor channels of data based on the monitoring of the plurality of sensor data points by the plurality of sensors in the sensor module, the sensor node device configured to receive via the wireless transceiver one or more remote configuration commands from a gateway device at the monitored location, the one or more remote configuration commands generated in response to a user request for sensor services and used by a controller in the battery operated node module to produce a customized sensor configuration where a first of the plurality of sensor channels of data associated with a first of the plurality of sensors is activated and a second of the plurality of sensor channels of data associated with a second of the plurality of sensors is deactivated, wherein the customized sensor configuration limits the passage of sensor channels of data carried over the wired communication interface to the activated sensor channels of data identified by the one or more remote configuration commands, the controller directing a transmission of sensor data for the activated sensor channels of data received via the wired communication interface to the gateway device via the wireless transceiver for delivery to a host system remote from the monitored location.

10. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the wireless transceiver is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol.

11. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the wired communication interface includes a first connection for clock signaling and a second connection for data signaling.

12. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from taking sensor measurements.

13. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein sensor data from the second of the plurality of sensors is prevented from retrieval.

14. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the monitored location is a building.

15. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the monitored location is a movable area of control.

16. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the sensor module is enclosed in a first housing and the battery operated node module is enclosed in a second housing.

19. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of sensors are environmental sensors.

20. The sensor node device of claim 9, wherein the plurality of sensors includes multiple sensors of the same type.