Adaptive Bandwidth Consumption in Remote Monitoring of Agricultural Assets

• US 20140015689A1
• Filed: 06/18/2013
• Published: 01/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intragrain Technologies Inc. (Calian Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Intragrain Technologies Inc. (Calian Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Folk, Kyle Ronald
• Granted Patent: US 9,761,111 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.17
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Individual agricultural assets at a remote location are each equipped with at least one condition sensor in communication with a location-based controlling transceiver, which in turn communicates with a central monitoring system. The transceiver will monitor data received from the condition sensors and in accordance with predetermined notification parameters will send a signal to the central monitoring system only when a notification condition, for example an elevated temperature reading in the instance of a grain bin, is detected. By only communicating when a transmission bandwidth requirements between the transceiver and the central monitoring system are minimized. Further transmission bandwidth reduction can be achieved by limiting the notification condition parameters limiting transceiver packet. Various conditions including temperature, gas levels or presence, volume or other conditions of various types of assets could be monitored remotely in this way.

Claims

1. A method for remotely monitoring an agricultural asset at a remote location, the method comprising:

providing a monitoring system comprising at least one condition sensor in communication with the agricultural asset so as to be arranged to sense a respective asset condition of the agricultural asset, a controller at the remote location which is arranged for communication with said at least one condition sensor and which includes a prescribed notification criterion associated with said at least one condition sensor stored thereon, and a central monitoring system located separately from the remote location and arranged for communication with the controller; and

using the controller;

periodically sampling the respective asset condition of the agricultural asset sensed by said at least one condition sensor;

comparing each sampled asset condition sensed by said at least one condition sensor to the prescribed notification criterion and determining a notification condition if the sampled asset condition meets the prescribed notification criterion; and

transmitting a notification signal to a central monitoring system in response to determination of a notification condition.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing a controller comprising a transceiver arranged to transmit notification signals to the central monitoring system and receive instructions from the central monitoring system.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising using the controller to receive an instruction signal from the central monitoring system and initiating an action in response to the instruction signal.

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising using the controller to receive replacement notification criterion data from the central monitoring system and updating the prescribed notification criterion stored on the controller using the replacement notification criterion data.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing a control mechanism in proximity to the agricultural asset which is operable to controllably vary a condition of the agricultural asset, sending an instruction signal from the central monitoring station to the controller in response to a notification signal, and using the controller to actuate the control mechanism in response to the instruction signal.

6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising transmitting the sensed asset condition which met the prescribed notification criterion together with the notification signal.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising monitoring a plurality of agricultural assets at a common remote location by providing each agricultural asset with a respective condition sensor and a respective controller arranged to communicate with the central monitoring station independently of the other controllers.

8. The method according to claim 7 including associating each condition sensor with a respective prescribed notification criterion stored on the respective controller.

9. The method according to claim 7 further comprising transmitting only sensed asset conditions which meet the prescribed notification criterion together with the notification signal.

10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing a monitoring system comprising a plurality of condition sensors arranged to record respective asset conditions in different data formats and a controller having a communication protocol arranged to communicate with the different data formats of the a plurality of condition sensors.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising transmitting a notification signal comprising a sensed asset condition of said at least one condition sensor upon reaching a prescribed number of periodic samples of the asset condition sensed by said at least one condition sensor regardless of the prescribed notification criteria being met.

12. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing a central memory and storing notification signals received by the central monitoring station in the central memory.

13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising providing a web based user interface including authentication protocols arranged to communicate with the central memory.

14. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing the controller with a communication protocol having a prescribed timeout duration corresponding to a duration that the controller attempts to communicate with the central monitoring system before the controller discontinues the communication attempt if no connection is made, and increasing the prescribed timeout duration to an increased duration in response to a failed communication attempt.

15. The method according to claim 14 further comprising maintaining the prescribed timeout duration at the increased duration in subsequent communication attempts until a subsequent failed communication attempt.

16. The method according to claim 1 further comprising communicating sensed asset conditions to the controller using a wireless signal having a prescribed signal strength, and incrementally increasing the prescribed signal strength until the sensed asset conditions are successfully communicated to the controller.

17. The method according to claim 1 further comprising maintaining the prescribed signal strength at an increased strength in subsequent communications until a failed communication attempt between a condition sensor and the controller.

18. A monitoring system for remotely monitoring an agricultural asset at a remote location, the system comprising:

at least one condition sensor arranged to communication with the agricultural asset so as to sense a respective asset condition of the agricultural asset; and

a controller configured to receive a signal from the at least one condition sensor indicating a sensed condition of the agricultural asset;

the controller comprising a memory storage storing a prescribed notification criterion thereon associated with said at least one condition sensor thereon and a processor coupled to the memory storage to enable a comparison of the asset condition sensed by said at least one condition sensor to the prescribed notification criterion and determination of a notification condition if the asset condition meets the prescribed notification criterion;

the controller being configured to communicate a notification signal, through a communication network to a central monitoring system when the notification condition is determined.