Presenting information regarding conditions of an environment with a visual representation of the environment

• US 8,779,926 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digi International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Schechter Tech LLC (Digi International Inc.)
• Inventors: Schechter, Harry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US13/340,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20130169443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 340/584, 340/539.13, 340/539.16, 340/539.17, 340/870.17, 340/585, 340/501, 340/506, 340/531, 340/581, 340/825.49, 340/825.69, 340/825.72
• US Class Current: 340/584
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/008 Alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/00 Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20836 Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control

Abstract

Configuring a user interface by which a user can view information regarding one or more conditions of an environment collected by an environmental monitoring system. An environmental monitoring system comprises one or more sensor units disposed in an environment and one or more servers. The servers may receive from an operator of the environment a visual representation of the environment and may identify a position in the visual representation corresponding to the location and configure a user interface to present information regarding the environment based at least in part on the positions. The user interface can be configured to display the visual representation and display information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate a relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit. Information identifying a location of one or more sensor units may be determined through an automated process.

Claims

1. A method of operating a computing device of an environmental monitoring system that monitors at least one condition of an environment, the environmental monitoring system comprising at least one environmental sensor unit disposed in the environment and the computing device, the environment being managed by an operator, the method comprising:

receiving, at the computing device from the operator, a visual representation of the environment in which the at least one environmental sensor unit is disposed, the visual representation of the environment comprising at least one graphic corresponding to at least one structural and/or topographical element of the environment;

identifying a position, in the visual representation of the environment, that corresponds to a location, in the environment, of a first sensor unit of the at least one environmental sensor unit; and

configuring a user interface that presents information regarding the environment, the configuring comprising configuring the user interface to;

display the visual representation, and

display information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate a relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, at the computing device, information, identifying the location of the first sensor unit, determined by an automated process carried out by the environmental monitoring system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving, at the computing device, the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving information identifying a geographic location of the first sensor unit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the information identifying the geographic location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving, at the computing device, a latitude and longitude for the first sensor unit.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the environmental monitoring system comprises a relay device to relay communications between the first sensor unit and the computing device, and

receiving the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving information identifying a location of the first sensor unit relative to the relay device.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving, at the computing device, the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving the information via at least one wireless wide-area network.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

calculating, at least in part by the first sensor unit, the location of the first sensor unit.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the position, in the visual representation, that corresponds to the location of the first sensor unit in the environment comprises receiving input from a user indicating the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

displaying to the user, via the user interface, the visual representation of the environment, and

wherein identifying the position corresponding to the location comprises;

detecting a user selection of a position in the visual representation; and

storing information indicating that the position selected by the user corresponds to the location in the environment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the position in the visual representation comprises:

determining two or more reference locations in the environment represented by two or more reference positions in the visual representation;

based at least in part on the two or more reference locations and on the two or more reference positions, determining a mapping between locations in the environment and positions in the visual representation; and

automatically determining, based on the mapping and on the location of the first sensor unit in the environment, the position in the visual representation that corresponds to the location of the first sensor unit.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate the relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit comprises displaying the information related to the first sensor unit at a second position in the user interface proximate to the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving information related to data collected by the first sensor unit, wherein the data collected by the first sensor unit includes an ambient temperature of an area adjacent to a component of computer equipment.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, at the computing device from the operator, the visual representation comprises receiving, at the computing device, the visual representation from one of a plurality of operators from which the computing device is configured to receive input,

wherein the plurality of operators manage a plurality of environments.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

receiving from the operator comprises receiving the visual representation and the information identifying the location via at least one first web page stored by the computing device, and

configuring the user interface to display the information regarding the environment comprises configuring the user interface to display the information via at least one second web page stored by the computing device and to display the visual representation in the at least one second web page.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual representation of the environment is a map of the environment.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual representation of the environment further comprises at least one second graphic corresponding to at least one object disposed in the environment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one graphic corresponding to the at least one structural and/or topographical element of the environment comprises at least one graphic illustrating a structural and/or topographical element of the environment.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one graphic corresponding to the at least one structural and/or topographical element of the environment comprises at least one graphic depicting a structural and/or topographical element of the environment.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the location in the environment is a first coordinate in a geographic coordinate system;

the visual representation is an image; and

the position in the visual representation is a second coordinate in a coordinate system for the image.

20. At least one computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to carry out a method of operating a computing device of an environmental monitoring system that monitors at least one condition of an environment, the environmental monitoring system comprising at least one environmental sensor unit disposed in the environment and the computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the computing device from an operator of a plurality of operators from which the computing device is configured to receive information, a visual representation of the environment in which the at least one sensor unit is disposed, the visual representation of the environment illustrating at least one structural and/or topographical element of the environment;

identifying, for a location at which a first sensor unit is disposed in the environment, a position in the visual representation of the environment that corresponds to the location in the environment; and

configuring a user interface that presents information regarding the environment, the configuring comprising configuring the user interface to;

display the visual representation, and

display information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate a relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

21. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, further comprising receiving, at the computing device, information, identifying the location of the first sensor unit, determined by an automated process carried out by the environmental monitoring system.

22. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein:

the environmental monitoring system comprises a relay device to relay communications between the first sensor unit and the computing device, and

receiving the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving information identifying a location of the first sensor unit relative to the relay device.

23. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, further comprising receiving, at the computing device, information identifying a geographic location of the first sensor unit.

24. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein identifying the position, in the visual representation, that corresponds to the location of the first sensor unit in the environment comprises receiving input from a user indicating the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

25. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein identifying the position in the visual representation comprises:

determining reference locations in the environment represented by reference positions in the visual representation;

based at least in part on the reference locations and the reference positions, determining a mapping between locations in the environment and positions in the visual representation; and

automatically determining, based on the mapping and on the location of the first sensor unit, the position in the visual representation that corresponds to the location of the first sensor unit in the environment.

26. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein configuring the user interface to display the information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate the relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit comprises configuring the user interface to display the information related to the first sensor unit at a position in the user interface proximate to the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

27. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein:

receiving from the operator comprises receiving the visual representation and the information identifying the location via at least one first web page stored by the computing device, and

configuring the user interface to display the information regarding the environment comprises configuring the user interface to display the information via at least one second web page stored by the computing device and to display the visual representation in the at least one second web page.

28. An environmental monitoring system that monitors at least one condition of an environment, the environment being managed by an operator, the environmental monitoring system comprising:

at least one environmental sensor unit disposed in the environment; and

a computing device, the computing device comprising;

at least one processor; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method comprising;

receiving, at the computing device from the operator, a visual representation of the environment in which the at least one sensor unit is disposed, the visual representation being a graphical diagram of the environment;

identifying a position in the visual representation of the environment that corresponds to a location in the environment of a first sensor unit of the at least one environmental sensor unit; and

configuring a user interface that presents information regarding the environment, the configuring comprising configuring the user interface to;

display the visual representation, and

display information related to the first sensor unit so as to indicate a relationship between the information and the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

29. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises receiving, at the computing device, information, identifying the location of the first sensor unit, determined by an automated process carried out by the environmental monitoring system.

30. The environmental monitoring system of claim 29, wherein receiving, at the computing device, the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving information identifying a geographic location of the first sensor unit.

31. The environmental monitoring system of claim 29, wherein:

the environmental monitoring system further comprises a relay device to relay communications between the first sensor unit and the computing device, and

receiving the information identifying the location of the first sensor unit comprises receiving information identifying a location of the first sensor unit relative to the relay device.

32. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein identifying the position, in the visual representation, that corresponds to the location of the first sensor unit in the environment comprises receiving input from a user indicating the position corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit.

33. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein identifying the position in the visual representation comprises:

determining reference locations in the environment represented by reference positions in the visual representation;

based at least in part on the reference locations and the reference positions, determining a correspondence between locations in the environment and positions in the visual representation; and

automatically determining, based on the correspondence, the position in the visual representation corresponding to the location of the first sensor unit in the environment.

34. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the at least one environmental sensor unit comprises a sensor unit to detect an ambient temperature and is located in the environment adjacent to a component of computer equipment to detect the ambient temperature adjacent to the component, and

the method further comprises receiving information related to data collected by the sensor unit regarding the ambient temperature adjacent to the component of computer equipment.

35. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein:

receiving from the operator comprises receiving the visual representation and the information identifying the location via at least one first web page stored by the computing device, and

configuring the user interface to display the information regarding the environment comprises configuring the user interface to display the information via at least one second web page stored by the computing device and to display the visual representation in the at least one second web page.

36. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the graphical diagram of the environment is a map of the environment.

37. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the graphical diagram of the environment comprises one or more graphics illustrating one or more objects disposed in the environment.

38. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the graphical diagram of the environment comprises one or more graphics illustrating one or more structural elements of the environment.

39. The environmental monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the graphical diagram of the environment comprises one or more graphics illustrating one or more topographical features of the environment.