Node-enabled monitoring of a piece of equipment using a hierarchical node network

• US 9,974,042 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fedex Corporate Services Incorporated (FedEx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fedex Corporate Services Incorporated (FedEx Corporation)
• Inventors: Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter
• Primary Examiner(s): Swearingen, Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US14/538,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20150156100A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/00256 Delivery operations
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 25/02 Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/02 Internal fittings of containers made by folding or erecting blanks made of paper B65D5/44
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/102 Straps, bands, strings or other elongate elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0835 Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 : Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0838 : Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 : Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 : specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 : Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 : using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 : using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 : using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 : Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 : Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 : based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 : for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 : stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 : ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 : specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 : for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/71 : Wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 : using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 : characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 : characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 : Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 : Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 : Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• 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 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 : Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• 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 52/0212 : managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 : TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 : locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 : Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for monitoring a piece of equipment using a hierarchical node network having at least an ID node, a master node, and a server. The ID node is associated with the equipment, can monitor equipment operations, and communicate directly with the master node but is unable to directly communicate with the server. The master node can directly communicate with the server and separately communicate with the ID node. The master node associates with the ID node when the master node detects a signal broadcast from the ID node. The server then determines a location of the ID node. The ID node detects an actionable event related to the operation of the equipment, and transmits a message reporting the actionable event to the master node. The master node notifies the server about the actionable event. Thereafter, the server initiates a responsive action based upon the notification.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a piece of equipment using a hierarchical node network having at least an ID node, a master node, and a server, the method comprising:

associating, by the master node, the master node and the ID node when the master node detects a signal broadcast from the ID node without requesting that the ID node broadcast the signal, wherein the ID node is associated with the piece of equipment and operative to monitor an operation of the piece of equipment and to communicate directly with the master node but is unable to directly communicate with the server, and wherein the master node is operative to directly communicate with the server and separately communicate with the ID node;

determining, by the server, a location of the ID node;

detecting, by the ID node, an actionable event related to the operation of the piece of equipment;

transmitting, by the ID node to the master node, a message reporting the actionable event;

notifying the server by the master node about the actionable event; and

initiating, by the server, a responsive action based upon the notification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing a passive association between the master node and the ID node without requiring without requiring a prior authority granted by the server, wherein establishing the passive association generates association data stored on the master node that identifies the passive association between the master node and the ID node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating step further comprises establishing an active association between the master node and the ID node, the active association reflecting an authorized connection between the master node and the ID node based upon an authority granted by the server, wherein establishing the active association generates association data stored on the master node that identifies the active association between the master node and the ID node.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the authorized connection between the master node and the ID node is preauthorized by the server to avoid the need for the master node to request the authority from the server after detecting the signal broadcast from the ID node.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the piece of equipment comprises one from a group comprising medical equipment, office equipment, industrial equipment, manufacturing equipment, construction equipment, transportation equipment, laboratory equipment, sporting equipment, automotive equipment, marine equipment, and mining equipment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting further comprises detecting, by the ID node, a movement status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting further comprises detecting, by the ID node, an activation status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting further comprises detecting, by the ID node, a usage status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating the responsive action step further comprises updating a billing attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating the responsive action step further comprises updating an inventory attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating the responsive action step further comprises updating a maintenance attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating the responsive action step further comprises updating a usage attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the usage attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment further comprises a usage time associated with an operator of the piece of equipment.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of initiating the responsive action step further comprises updating a quality assurance attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the location of the ID node further comprises tracking the location of the ID node over time.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the location of the ID node further comprises tracking the location of the ID node over time and refining the location of the ID node based upon context data related to an operating environment of the piece of equipment and the ID node.

17. A system within a hierarchical node network for monitoring a piece of equipment, the system comprising:

a server;

a master node operative to directly communicate with the server over a longer range communication path; and

an ID node associated with the piece of equipment and operative to monitor an operation of the piece of equipment, the ID node being further operative to wirelessly communicate directly with the master node over a shorter range communication path but is unable to directly communicate with the server;

wherein ID node is operative to

detect an actionable event related to the operation of the piece of equipment, and

transmit a message to the master node reporting the actionable event;

wherein the master node is operative to

associate with the ID node upon detection of a signal broadcast from the ID node without requesting that the ID node broadcast the signal, and

notify the server about the actionable event reported in the message received from the ID node, and

wherein the server is operative to

determine a location of the ID node,

receive the notification from the master node regarding the actionable event, and

initiate a responsive action based upon the notification.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the master node is further operative to associate with the ID node by being operative to establish a passive association between the master node and the ID node without requiring a prior authority granted by the server, wherein establishing the passive association generates association data stored on the master node that identifies the passive association between the master node and the ID node.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the master node is further operative to associate with the ID node by being operative to establish an active association between the master node and the ID node, the active association reflecting an authorized connection between the master node and the ID node based upon an authority granted by the server, wherein establishing the active association generates association data stored on the master node that identifies the active association between the master node and the ID node.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the authorized connection between the master node and the ID node is preauthorized by the server to avoid the need for the master node to request the authority from the server after detecting the signal broadcast from the ID node.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the piece of equipment comprises one from a group comprising medical equipment, office equipment, industrial equipment, manufacturing equipment, construction equipment, transportation equipment, laboratory equipment, sporting equipment, automotive equipment, marine equipment, and mining equipment.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the ID node is further operative to detect by being operative to detect a movement status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the ID node is further operative to detect by being operative to detect an activation status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the ID node is further operative to detect by being operative to detect a usage status related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to initiate the responsive action by being operative to update a billing attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to initiate the responsive action by being operative to update an inventory attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to initiate the responsive action by being operative to update a maintenance attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

28. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to initiate the responsive action by being operative to update a usage attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the usage attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment further comprises a usage time associated with an operator of the piece of equipment.

30. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to initiate the responsive action by being operative to update a quality assurance attribute related to the operation of the piece of equipment.

31. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to determine the location of the ID node by being operative to track the location of the ID node over time.

32. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further operative to determine the location of the ID node by being operative to track the location of the ID node over time and refine the location of the ID node based upon context data related to an operating environment of the piece of equipment and the ID node.