Wireless electronic device configuration system

• US 10,122,664 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2016
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Logical Concepts, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Logical Concepts, Inc.
• Inventors: Ward, Thomas Owen, Brown, David Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Taylor, Barry W
• Application Number:
  US15/243,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20160359785A1
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A programmable electronic device includes a processor, a cellular transceiver module and a command interpreter module. The cellular transceiver module can be executable by the processor. The command interpreter module is in communication with the cellular transceiver module and is executable by the processor. The command interpreter module is configured to transmit and receive text messages via the cellular transceiver module. The command interpreter module is further configured to program and configure operation of the programmable electronic device from commands and content identified by the command interpreter module in the text messages. The text messages may be unstructured.

Claims

1. A programmable electronic device comprising:

a processor;

a cellular transceiver circuitry executable by the processor;

a command interpreter circuitry executable by the processor and in communication with the cellular transceiver circuitry, the command interpreter circuitry configured to transmit to a mobile device and receive from a mobile device text messages as a first payload over a first communication channel via the cellular transceiver circuitry,

the command interpreter circuitry further configured to program and configure operation of the programmable electronic device from commands and content identified by the command interpreter circuitry in the text messages, wherein the text messages are configuration text messages, and the processor is configured to only enable configuration of the programmable electronic device with the configuration text messages in response to the programmable electronic device being in a programming mode that is different from an operational mode, the configuration text message comprising an alarm threshold value, an output message for when the alarm threshold value is reached, or both; and

an input/output circuitry executable by the processor for communication of a second payload with the mobile device over a second communication channel with a second communication protocol, the second communication channel being a different type of communication channel than the first communication channel, the second communication protocol being a different communication protocol than the first communication protocol, and the second payload being a larger payload than the first payload, wherein the processor is configured to program and configure operation of the programmable electronic device with the second payload.

2. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a memory, wherein the text messages comprise a format from which the command interpreter circuitry is configured to identify a command comprising a character string as substantially matching a predetermined character string stored in the memory.

3. The programmable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the command interpreter circuitry is further configured to parse the format of the remainder of the text messages other than the character string to identify content corresponding to the identified command.

4. The programmable electronic device of claim 3, wherein a format of the text message is an unstructured format, and the command interpreter circuitry is further configured to sequentially parse the remainder of the unstructured format of the text messages and identify the content by selective identification of a group of characters having similar characteristics.

5. The programmable electronic device of claim 4, wherein the command interpretation circuitry is configured to ignore characters in the unstructured format having dissimilar characteristics from the group of characters having similar characteristics.

6. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the cellular transceiver circuitry comprises one of a first cellular transceiver for communication over a first wireless network, or a second cellular transceiver for communication over a second wireless network, the first wireless network being different from the second wireless network, and the processor is configured to dynamically determine that the first cellular transceiver or the second cellular transceiver is presently operable in the programmable electronic device, and automatically execute corresponding different communication related instructions that are compatible with the respective first cellular transceiver or the respective second cellular transceiver in accordance with whichever cellular transceiver is determined by the processor as being presently operable in the programmable electronic device.

7. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a user interface having a multi-function input configured to initiate a test of the programmable electronic device in response to receipt of a momentary signal on the multi-function input, and configured to initiate the programming mode in response to receipt of a continuous signal longer than a predetermined duration on the multi-function input, wherein, responsive to the test of the programmable electronic device, the processor is configured to execute the cellular transceiver circuitry to transmit a text message indicative of an outcome of a self-diagnostic test to a phone number of a mobile device.

8. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the command interpreter circuitry is further configured to extract a parameter from the programmable electronic device in response to receipt of a text message requesting the parameter, and initiate transmission of the parameter in a response text message.

9. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is a short message service communication protocol, and the second communication protocol is a short range wireless communication protocol.

10. The programmable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the input/output circuitry comprising a wireless communication circuitry executable by the processor to receive control signals, data signals or both control signals and data signals via the second communication protocol.

11. A programmable electronic device compromising:

a processor configured to control a command interpreter circuitry, and at least one of a network adapter circuitry or a cellular transceiver circuitry;

a field input/output circuitry in communication with the processor, the field input/output circuitry configured to process a plurality of inputs and outputs of the programmable electronic device, the field input/output circuitry executable by the processor to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device via a short range communication protocol to receive a first payload of data via the short range communication protocol, the data executable by the processor to program the programmable electronic device, or an external device, the external device programmable via the field input/output circuitry; and

the command interpreter circuitry controlled by the processor to accept and execute text messages from the mobile device, the text messages in a short message service format received wirelessly by the cellular transceiver circuitry via the cellular network in a long range communication protocol having a range longer than the short range communication protocol, the command interpreter circuitry further controlled by the processor to use a second payload of the text messages to configure operation of the programmable electronic device or to configure operation of the external device via the field input/output circuitry, wherein the text messages are configuration text messages, and the processor is configured to only enable configuration of the programmable electronic device with the second payload in response to the programmable electronic device being in a programming mode that is different from an operational mode, the second payload comprising an alarm threshold value, an output message for when the alarm threshold value is reached, or both.

12. The programmable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the command interpreter circuitry is further configured to convert the text message to a predetermined protocol compatible with the external device and communicate the converted text message to the external device via the field input/output circuitry, or interpret the text message as being for the programmable electronic device.

13. The programmable electronic device of claim 12, wherein the predetermined protocol of the converted text message comprises instructions to at least one of control, configure or program the external device and the interpretation of the text message as being for the programmable electronic device comprises interpretation of the text message as instructions to control the programmable electronic device, to configure the programmable electronic device, to program the programmable electronic device, or some combination thereof.

14. The programmable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the text messages comprises a phone number configuration text message having a different second payload, the different second payload comprising a command and content, and the command interpreter circuitry is configured to parse the command from the text message to identify the message as the phone number configuration text message, and is further configured to parse the content to identify a phone number included in the message.

15. The programmable electronic device of claim 14, wherein, the content is unstructured content, and the command interpreter circuitry is further configured to sequentially parse the unstructured content to identify and create a plurality of groups of numeric values included in the unstructured content representative of the phone number, the numeric values randomly located in any of a plurality of different character locations.

16. The programmable electronic device of claim 14, further comprising a memory in communication with the processor, and wherein the command is representative of an identifier of a storage location in the memory for the phone number, and the processor is further configured to store the phone number in memory as a security authorization such that configuration commands received via text message are confirmed by the processor as being sent by an authorized user based on the stored phone number.

17. The programmable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the short message service format of the second payload and a format of the data received in the first payload via the short range communication protocol are different.

18. A method of configuring operation of a programmable electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving with a cellular transceiver module text messages transmitted over a first communication channel in a first communication protocol used for transmission of text messages including a first payload, wherein the text messages are configuration text messages and the first payload comprises an alarm threshold value, an output message for when the alarm threshold value is reached, or both;

confirming, with a processor, that the programmable electronic device is in a programming mode in response to receipt of the first payload, wherein configuration of the programmable electronic device is enabled only when the programmable electronic device is in the programming mode, the programming mode being different from an operational mode;

enabling, with the processor, configuration of the programmable device with the configuration text messages in response to the programmable electronic device being in the programming mode;

parsing the text message using a processor to identify a command included in a group of character locations at a beginning of the text message, the command corresponding to the alarm threshold value, the output message for when the alarm threshold value is reached, or both;

confirming, using the processor, that the command is valid;

identifying, using the processor, a next character location in the first payload of the text message at an end of the identified command;

sequentially parsing, using the processor, content of the first payload of the text message in the next character location and a plurality of character locations included in the text message after the next character location;

identifying characters in the plurality of character locations representing the alarm threshold value, the output message for when the alarm threshold value is reached, or both;

adjusting an operational configuration of the programmable electronic device, using the processor, based on execution of the identified command using the identified characters with similar characteristics;

receiving data wirelessly in a second payload via a second communication channel in a second communication protocol used for transmission of other than text messages received other than via the cellular transceiver; and

programming or configuring operation of the programmable electronic device with the second payload.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein identifying the command further comprises the step of substantially matching a character string extracted from the group of character locations with a predetermined character string stored in a memory included in the programmable electronic device.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising converting the text message to a format compatible with an external device based on the identified command using the identified characters, and transmitting the converted text message for receipt by the external device, the external device being separated away from the programmable electronic device.