Ad-Hoc Wireless Sensor Package

• US 20140177524A1
• Filed: 12/28/2012
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Cheatham, Jesse R. III, Dyor, Matthew G., Glaskowsky, Peter N., Hallman, Kimberly D.A., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Jung, Edward K.Y., Koenig, Michael F., Lord, Robert W., Lord, Richard T., Mundie, Craig J., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Petroski, Robert C., Tan, Desney S., Wood, Lowell L. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,426,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems, methods, computer-readable storage mediums including computer-readable instructions and/or circuitry for control of transmission to a target device with communicating with one or more sensors in an ad-hoc sensor network may implement operations including, but not limited to: receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor; wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor; and at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

Claims

1. A method for communicating with one or more sensors in an ad-hoc sensor network comprising:

receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor;

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor; and

at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor includes:

receiving one or more wireless signals associated with an energy density status of the power storage device of at least one sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor includes:

receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a capability to perform a first sensing operation and an inability to perform a second sensing operation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor further includes:

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to a programmed schedule.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes:

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to one or more external control signals.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes:

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to one or more external control signals received from at least one external device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes:

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to one or more external control signals received from one or more switches.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes:

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according one or more sensor signals indicative of a presence or absence of one or more objects within the portion of a region including at least one sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more thermal sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more pressure sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more motion sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more image sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more audio sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals includes:

powering one or more electromagnetic radiation sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals comprises:

charging one or more batteries via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals comprises:

charging one or more capacitors via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

powering one or more sensing operations of a sensor via the one or more power storage devices.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving one or more wireless signals indicative of a presence of a sensor within a portion of a region to be monitored;

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the receiving one or more wireless signals indicative of a presence of a sensor within a portion of a region to be monitored includes:

receiving one or more wireless signals indicative of a presence of a sensor within a portion of a region to be monitored with one or more sensor monitoring devices pluggable into one or more power sources.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

transmitting one or more signals to a portion of a region to be monitored with one or more sensors.

23. The method of claim 20,

wherein the transmitting one or more signals to a portion of a region to be monitored with one or more sensors includes:

transmitting one or more signals to one or more sensors via a device independent of a sensor monitoring device; and

wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes;

transmitting one or more signals to one or more sensors according to the location data with the sensor monitoring device.

24. The method of claim 20,

wherein the transmitting one or more signals to a portion of a region to be monitored with one or more sensors includes:

transmitting one or more lower-power signals to one or more sensors with a sensor monitoring device; and

wherein the wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor includes;

transmitting one or more higher-power signals to the one or more sensors with the sensor monitoring device.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting one or more signals indicative of a presence of a sensor within the portion of the region to be monitored to a sensor monitoring device.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing one or more at least partially reflective elements configured to direct one or more signals around one or more items disposed in a line-of-sight between a sensor and a sensor monitoring device.

33. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wirelessly transmitting sensor data from the sensor to the sensor monitoring device in response to the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reconfiguring one or more sensing elements according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor.

36. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a sensing operation request.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

receiving a sensing capability status notification in response to the sensing operation request.

21-22. -22. (canceled)

26-29. -29. (canceled)

31-32. -32. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

38. A system for communicating with one or more sensors in an ad-hoc sensor network comprising:

means for receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor;

means for wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor; and

means for at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

39. A system for communicating with one or more sensors in an ad-hoc sensor network comprising:

circuitry for receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor;

circuitry for wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor; and

circuitry for at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.

40. A computer-readable medium tangibly embodying computer-readable instructions for execution of a process on a computing device, the process comprising:

receiving one or more wireless signals associated with a sensing capability status of at least one sensor;

wirelessly transmitting one or more sensor operation activation signals to one or more sensors according to the sensing capability status of the at least one sensor; and

at least one of powering one or more sensing operations of the at least one sensor and charging one or more power storage devices of the at least one sensor via the one or more sensor operation activation signals.