Demand/response mechanism in a wireless sensor network

• US 9,714,844 B1
• Filed: 01/26/2016
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Senseware, Inc.
• Inventors: Stamatakis, Julien G., Al-Momen, Serene
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LEON VIET Q
• Application Number:
  US15/006,439
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00842 the system comprising a plurality of damper doors; Air distribution between several outlets
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/0001 for ventilation F24F11/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/58 using Internet communication
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/00 Control inputs relating to air properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/006 Remote reading of utility meters to a non-fixed location, i.e. mobile location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/00 Electric signal transmission systems G08C17/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40228 Modbus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/04 Network management architectures or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/10 : using a centralized architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 : using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 : using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 : for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/80 : Arrangements in the sub-station, i.e. sensing device
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/82 : where the sensing device takes the initiative of sending data
• 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: H04W 24/02 : Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 : Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 : Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/06 : between gateways and public network devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 : Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A wireless sensor network at a monitored location can be configured to generate sensor channel(s) of data to assess operational conditions at the monitored location. Inputs based on the sensor channel(s) of data are provided to a host system for analysis of a demand to one or more resources at the monitored location. Response messages can be generated based on the demand analysis and transmitted to actuator(s) at the monitored location to effect an adjustment to the operational conditions.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a gateway device installed at a building;

a plurality of wireless node devices installed in a plurality of rooms in the building, a first of the plurality of wireless node devices installed in a first of the plurality of rooms in the building, the first of the plurality of wireless node devices receiving sensor data for wireless delivery to the gateway device for forwarding to a location remote from the building, the CO₂ sensor data based on measurements by a CO₂ sensor in the first of the plurality of rooms in the building; and

a host system at the location remote from the building, the host system receiving the CO₂ sensor data from the gateway device, performing an assessment using the received CO₂ sensor data of an air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms in the building due to occupancy of the first of the plurality of rooms to determine whether the air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms has hit a level of variance relative to a target air quality level during a time period covered by a reservation of the first of the plurality of rooms, the host system transmitting, in response to the assessment, one or more response messages to the gateway device for wireless delivery to a second of the plurality of wireless node devices, wherein the one or more response messages enable the second of the plurality of wireless node devices to generate a control signal that is transmitted to an HVAC system component used to govern the air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms, the HVAC system component using the received control signal to adjust the air quality level in the first of the plurality of rooms during at least part of the time period covered by the reservation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless node devices includes a wireless node physically attached to a sensor module containing the CO₂ sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless node devices also collects sound sensor measurements.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless node devices also collects light sensor measurements.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless nodes also collects temperature sensor measurements.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless node devices also collects humidity sensor measurements.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the second of the plurality of wireless node devices includes a wireless node physically attached to an actuator module containing an actuator.

5. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a host system at a location remote from a building, CO₂ sensor data from a gateway device installed at the building, the CO₂ sensor data based on measurements by a CO₂ sensor in a first of a plurality of wireless node devices installed in a first of a plurality of rooms at the building, the first of the plurality of wireless node devices delivering the CO₂ sensor data to the gateway device via wireless communication;

performing, by the host system using the received CO₂ sensor data, an assessment of an air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms due to occupancy of the first of the plurality of rooms to determine whether the air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms has hit a level of variance relative to a target air quality level during a time period covered by a reservation of the first of the plurality of rooms; and

transmitting, by the host system in response to the assessment, one or more response messages to the gateway device for wireless delivery to a second of the plurality of wireless node devices, wherein the one or more response messages enable the second of the plurality of wireless node devices to generate a control signal that is transmitted to an HVAC system component used to govern the air quality level of the first of the plurality of rooms, the HVAC system component using the received control signal to adjust the air quality level in the first of the plurality of rooms during at least part of the time period covered by the reservation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless node devices includes a wireless node physically attached to a sensor module containing the CO₂ sensor.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving, by the host system sound sensor measurements collected by the first of the plurality of wireless node devices.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving, by the host system, light sensor measurements collected by the first of the plurality of wireless node devices.

12. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving, by the host system, temperature sensor measurements collected by the first of the plurality of wireless node devices.

13. The method of claim 5, further comprising receiving, by the host system, humidity sensor measurements collected by the first of the plurality of wireless node devices.

14. The method of claim 5, wherein the second of the plurality of wireless node devices includes a wireless node physically attached to an actuator module containing an actuator.