METHODS, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED NODE MONITORING IN A WIRELESS NODE NETWORK
First Claim
1. A dedicated multi-radio apparatus for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having a plurality of low-level ID nodes and a high-level managing node, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the apparatus comprising:
- a central node control processor;
a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node;
a first command radio transceiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the first command radio transceiver being dedicated to providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command interface allowing at least transmission of an ID node instruction from the central node control processor to at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes; and
a first node monitoring radio receiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and assigned by the central node control processor to listen for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a first channel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus and systems that are directed towards improved logistics node monitoring. Such a system may include a high-level managing node and a mid-level monitoring node that can communicate with low-level ID nodes associated with items being shipped. The mid-level node uses a central node control processor to coordinate monitoring for ID node signals, and a remote management communication interface coupled to the processor to provide the processor with access to the high-level node and a control input sent from the high-level node. A first command radio transceiver coupled to the processor provides a first command interface to the ID nodes and allows for transmission of an ID node instruction from the processor to at least one of the ID nodes. A first node monitoring radio receiver in the mid-level monitoring node is assigned to listen for ID node signals over a first channel.
58 Citations
110 Claims
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1. A dedicated multi-radio apparatus for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having a plurality of low-level ID nodes and a high-level managing node, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the apparatus comprising:
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a central node control processor; a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node; a first command radio transceiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the first command radio transceiver being dedicated to providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command interface allowing at least transmission of an ID node instruction from the central node control processor to at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes; and a first node monitoring radio receiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and assigned by the central node control processor to listen for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a first channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A dedicated multi-radio system for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having a plurality of low-level ID nodes, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the system comprising:
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a high-level managing node disposed in the wireless node network; and a mid-level monitoring node disposed in the wireless node network in communication with the high-level managing node, the mid-level monitoring node being operative to monitor for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes in response to a control input from the high-level managing node, the mid-level monitoring node further comprising; a central node control processor responsible for coordinating the monitoring for the one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes, a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node and the control input from the high-level managing node, a first command radio transceiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and dedicated to providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command interface allowing at least transmission of an ID node instruction from the central node control processor to at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes; and a first node monitoring radio receiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and assigned by the central node control processor to listen for the one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a first channel. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A dedicated multi-radio based method for logistics node monitoring in a wireless node network having a high-level managing node, a mid-level monitoring node, and a plurality of low-level ID nodes, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, by a remote management communication interface on the mid-level monitoring node, a control input from the high-level managing node, the remote management communication interface on the mid-level monitoring node being dedicated for communication with the high-level managing node; transmitting, by a first command radio transceiver on the mid-level monitoring node, an ID node instruction to the at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command radio transceiver providing the mid-level monitoring node with a first dedicated command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes; generating, by a central node control processor in the mid-level monitoring node, a first assignment instruction for a first node monitoring radio receiver on the mid-level monitoring node; and sending, by the central node control processor in the mid-level monitoring node, the first assignment instruction to the first node monitoring radio receiver to cause the first node monitoring radio receiver to listen for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a first channel. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. A dedicated multi-radio system for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having a plurality of low-level ID nodes and a high-level managing node, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the system comprising:
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a mid-level monitoring node that coordinates monitoring for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes in response to a control input from the high-level managing node, the mid-level monitoring node further comprising, (a) a central node control processor responsible for coordinating the monitoring for the one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes, (b) a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node and the control input received from the high-level managing node, (c) a first command radio transceiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and dedicated to providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command interface allowing at least transmission of a first ID node instruction from the central node control processor of the mid-level monitoring node to at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes, and (d) a monitoring radio communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the monitoring radio communication interface operative to generate a first assignment instruction in response to feedback received by the monitoring radio communication interface from the central node control processor related to the control input; and a first node monitoring radio receiver unit in communication with the mid-level monitoring node as a separate device through the monitoring radio communication interface, the first node monitoring radio unit being responsive to the first assignment instruction received from the mid-level monitoring node to listen for the one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a first channel. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A dedicated multi-radio system for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having at least two low-level ID nodes and a high-level managing node, wherein each of the two low-level ID nodes are associated with different items being shipped, the system comprising:
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a mid-level monitoring node with communication access to the high-level managing node over a first communication path and communication access to the at least two low-level ID nodes over a second communication path, the mid-level monitoring node being responsive to a control input received from the high-level managing node over the first communication path to generate a plurality of monitoring assignment task instructions related to scanning for one or more signals from the at least two low-level ID nodes; a first node monitoring radio receiver unit responsive to a first of the monitoring assignment task instructions to scan for the one or more signals from the low-level ID nodes over a first channel, the first of the monitoring assignment task instructions being received by the first node monitoring radio receiver over a third communication path from the mid-level monitoring node; and a second node monitoring radio receiver unit responsive to a second of the monitoring assignment task instructions to scan for the one or more signals from the low-level ID nodes over a second channel simultaneously while the first node monitoring radio receiver unit scans for the one or more signals from the low-level ID nodes over the first channel, the second of the monitoring assignment task instructions being received by the second node monitoring radio receiver over the third communication path from the mid-level monitoring node, wherein the first channel does not overlap with the second channel. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. A dedicated multi-radio apparatus for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network having a plurality of low-level ID nodes and a high-level managing node, wherein each of the low-level ID nodes is associated with one of a plurality of items being shipped, the apparatus comprising:
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a central node control processor; a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node; and a plurality of multi-mode radio transceivers each operatively coupled to the central node control processor, wherein each of the multi-mode radio transceivers being responsive to a first mode command received from the central node control processor to operate in a first mode as a dedicated command radio transceiver providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to the plurality of low-level ID nodes, the first command interface allowing at least transmission of an ID node instruction from the central node control processor to at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes; and wherein each of the multi-mode radio transceivers being further responsive to a second mode command received from the central node control processor to operate in a second mode as a dedicated node monitoring radio receiver that listens for one or more signals from at least one of the plurality of low-level ID nodes over a designated channel. - View Dependent Claims (98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109)
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110. A dedicated multi-radio system for logistics node monitoring disposed in a wireless node network, the apparatus comprising:
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a first low-level ID node in the wireless node network, the first low-level ID node being disposed relative to a first package being shipped; a second low-level ID node in the wireless node network, the second low-level ID node being disposed relative to a second package being shipped; a high-level managing node disposed in the wireless node network, the high-level managing node maintaining first association information related to the first low-level ID node and the first package and maintaining second association information related to the second low-level ID node and the second package; and a mid-level monitoring node disposed in the wireless node network in communication with the high-level managing node, the mid-level monitoring node being operative to monitor for one or more signals from at least one of the first low-level ID node and the second low-level ID node in response to a control input message received from the high-level managing node, the mid-level monitoring node further comprising; a central node control processor responsible for coordinating the monitoring for the one or more signals from the first low-level ID node and the second low-level ID node; a remote management communication interface operatively coupled to the central node control processor, the remote management communication interface providing the central node control processor with access to the high-level managing node and the control input message from the high-level managing node; a first command radio transceiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and dedicated to providing the central node control processor with a first command interface to each of the first low-level ID node and the second low-level ID node, the first command interface being operative to transmit an ID node instruction from the central node control processor to at least one of the first low-level ID node and the second low-level ID node based upon the control input message; and a first node monitoring radio receiver operatively coupled to the central node control processor and assigned by the central node control processor to listen for the one or more signals from at least one of the first low-level ID node and the second low-level ID node over a first channel.
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Specification