Wireless device association system

• US 9,113,234 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2010
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Mitchell, Bradley J., Fletcher, Henry VanRensselaer III, Callahan, Kevin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi
• Application Number:
  US12/844,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20120026016A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,848 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 340/10.1, 340/945, 340/539.13, 340/539.26, 340/540, 340/539.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/25 using a mesh network, e.g. a public urban network such as public lighting, bus stops or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/47 using RFID associated with sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/75 by polling or interrogating the sub-stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product for identifying sensor units. Identification information is received from a marker in a wireless signal generated by the marker at a wireless device. The marker is associated with an object. The identification information is sent from the wireless device to a computer system. The computer system associates the wireless device with the object using the identification information.

Claims

1. An aircraft comprising a fuselage and further comprising:

an object which is part of the aircraft;

a computer system inside of and connected to the aircraft;

a marker connected to the aircraft and associated with the object, wherein the marker is configured to wirelessly transmit a first wireless signal containing identification information unique to the marker, the first wireless signal having a limited range, wherein the limited range comprises a range that reaches less than all of an area of the aircraft;

a wireless device connected to the aircraft within the limited range, the wireless device configured to receive the first wireless signal and to transmit a second wireless signal to the computer system, the second wireless signal containing at least the identification information, wherein the wireless device further comprises a sensor configured to sense parameters of the object, and wherein the wireless device is further configured to transmit sensor data that includes the parameters and the identification information; and

wherein the computer system is configured to use the identification information to associate the wireless device with the object.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is further configured to obtain the identification information from the marker in response to an event.

3. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is further configured to select the identification information for the marker from other identification information received in a plurality of signals received from a plurality of other markers.

4. The aircraft of claim 3, wherein the wireless device is further configured to select the identification information for the marker from the other identification information received in the plurality of signals based on corresponding signal strengths of ones of the plurality of signals.

5. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the identification information is first identification information;

the marker is a first marker;

the wireless device is further configured to obtain second identification information from a second marker associated with a second object forming part of the aircraft, and send the first identification information and the second identification information to the computer system; and

the computer system is configured to associate the wireless device with both the first object and the second object using the first identification information and the second identification information.

6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the wireless device further comprises a wireless controller and wherein the wireless controller is configured to receive a wireless command from the computer system, and wherein, in response to the wireless command, the wireless controller controls an operation of the object.

7. A method executed with respect to an aircraft comprising a fuselage, an object forming part of the aircraft, a computer system inside of and connected to the aircraft, a marker connected to the aircraft and associated with the object, and a wireless device connected to the aircraft having a sensor configured to sense parameters of the object, the method-comprising:

receiving, at the wireless device, identification information from the marker via a first wireless signal generated by the marker and that has a limited range, wherein the limited range comprises a range that reaches less than all of an area of the aircraft;

sending sensor data that includes the parameters of the object and the identification information from the wireless device to the computer system via a second wireless signal; and

automatically associating, by the computer system, the wireless device with the object using the identification information.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

storing an association of the wireless device with the object in a data structure.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

comparing the identification information to a group of identifiers for a plurality of markers assigned to objects that form part of the aircraft.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of objects forming the apparatus;

a computer system inside of and connected to the apparatus;

a plurality of markers connected to the apparatus, wherein ones of the plurality of markers are associated with corresponding ones of the plurality of objects, wherein each of the plurality of markers are configured to transmit corresponding marker wireless signals containing corresponding identification information unique to any given marker, the corresponding marker wireless signals having a limited range, wherein the limited range comprises a range that reaches less than all of an area of the apparatus;

a plurality of wireless devices connected to the apparatus, each of the plurality of wireless devices are within the limited range of at least one of the plurality of markers, wherein each of the plurality of wireless devices is configured to receive at least one corresponding marker wireless signal of at least one marker of the plurality of markers, wherein each of the plurality of wireless devices is further configured to transmit corresponding wireless signals containing the corresponding identification information to the computer system, and wherein a first set of the plurality of wireless devices comprise a plurality of sensors configured to sense parameters with respect to corresponding ones of the plurality of objects and wherein a second set of the plurality of wireless devices comprises a plurality of controllers configured to control corresponding operations of the plurality of objects, wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless devices both senses a parameter with respect to its corresponding object and controls an operation of its corresponding object; and

wherein the computer system is configured to receive all of the corresponding wireless signals, and associate each of the wireless devices to at least one of the plurality of objects based on the corresponding identification information.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of wireless devices further comprise a plurality of controllers configured to control corresponding operations of the plurality of objects.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is selected from the group consisting of:

an aircraft, a spacecraft, a tank, a submarine, a surface ship, a train, an office building, a manufacturing facility, and a bridge.