U.S. patent application number 15/798529 was filed with the patent office on 2018-03-08 for remote monitoring system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Schechter Tech, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Schechter Tech, LLC. Invention is credited to Kevin Felichko, Harry J. Schechter.
Application Number | 20180066996 15/798529 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42195725 |
Filed Date | 2018-03-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180066996 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schechter; Harry J. ; et
al. |
March 8, 2018 |
REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM
Abstract
A temperature monitoring service in which remote monitoring
units are distributed to customers who then set up monitoring as
desired at their facilities. The devices may be registered through
a web site using the Internet. Monitoring information may be
communicated using a publicly available, wireless network, such as
a cellular telephone network. The service may be provided with a
system, including a server, which can deliver high levels of
monitoring functionality. The server may support streaming
monitoring information to a customer for analysis or sending a
command activating a device connected to a remote unit. Remote
units associated with the same location may be in a pool,
comprising one active unit and one or more spare units, in which
the server automatically identifies the active unit. The server may
support analyzing monitoring information according to an expected
cycle pattern of a ventilation system at the monitored
facility.
Inventors: |
Schechter; Harry J.;
(Needham, MA) ; Felichko; Kevin; (Thurmont,
MD) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Schechter Tech, LLC |
Boston |
MA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Schechter Tech, LLC
Boston
MA
|
Family ID: |
42195725 |
Appl. No.: |
15/798529 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15366232 |
Dec 1, 2016 |
9857234 |
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15798529 |
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14842109 |
Sep 1, 2015 |
9541454 |
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15366232 |
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14041703 |
Sep 30, 2013 |
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14842109 |
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13554858 |
Jul 20, 2012 |
8547226 |
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14041703 |
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12275971 |
Nov 21, 2008 |
8248252 |
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13554858 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08B 21/182 20130101;
H04L 67/12 20130101; G08C 25/02 20130101; H04L 43/065 20130101;
H05K 7/20836 20130101; G08C 2200/00 20130101; G06F 11/0709
20130101; H04L 67/02 20130101; G01K 1/024 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01K 1/02 20060101
G01K001/02; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08; G08C 25/02 20060101
G08C025/02; H05K 7/20 20060101 H05K007/20; H04L 12/26 20060101
H04L012/26; G06F 11/07 20060101 G06F011/07; G08B 21/18 20060101
G08B021/18 |
Claims
1. A method of remote monitoring using a plurality of remote units,
each remote unit comprising a sensor and a transceiver, the method
comprising: receiving through a web site a registration of a pool
comprising at least a portion of the plurality of remote units, the
registration of the pool comprising: an indication of each remote
unit of the portion of the plurality of remote units; and
monitoring a monitored location, the monitoring comprising
associating reports received from the portion of the plurality of
remote units with the monitored location.
2. The method of remote monitoring of claim 1, wherein: the
registration further comprises an indication of monitoring limits
associated with the monitored location associated with the
pool.
3. The method of remote monitoring of claim 1, wherein: the portion
of the plurality of remote units comprises at least a first and a
second remote units; the method further comprises receiving status
reports indicating the monitoring status of the portion of the
remote units; when a status report indicates the first remote unit
is active, processing monitoring reports from the first remote unit
without processing monitoring reports from the second remote unit;
and when a status report indicates the second remote unit is
active, processing monitoring reports from the second remote unit
without processing monitoring reports from the first remote
unit.
4. The method of remote monitoring of claim 1, wherein: the
registration of the pool further comprises information indicating
an alarm communication mechanism; and the method further comprises:
when multiple remote units are active, generating an alarm in
accordance with the alarm communication mechanism, the alarm
comprising information indicating that multiple units in the pool
are active.
5. The method of remote monitoring of claim 1, wherein: each of the
remote units is adapted and configured for operation in an AC mode
and a battery mode; a remote unit of the portion of the plurality
of remote units is designated as an active remote unit based on its
mode of operation; and associating reports received from the
portion of the plurality of remote units with the monitored
location comprises recording a monitored parameter value from
reports only from the active remote unit.
6. The method of remote monitoring of claim 5, further comprising:
designating the active remote unit, the designating comprising
receiving an indication from a device that it has changed its power
state to operate in a battery power state from operation in an AC
power state.
7. The method of remote monitoring of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving reports from the plurality of remote units, the reports
comprising monitoring reports, indicating a sensor reading, and
status reports, indicating a change in status of the remote units;
and designating a remote unit of the portion as an active remote
unit based on status reports received from the remote units of the
portion.
8. The method of remote monitoring of claim 7, wherein: each of the
remote units is adapted and configured for operation in an AC mode
and a battery mode and to transmit a status report indicating a
current operating mode upon transition between AC mode and battery
mode; and designating a remote unit of the portion as the active
remote unit comprises designating a remote unit as the active unit
in response to a status report indicating a current operating mode
is the battery mode.
9. The method of remote monitoring of claim 7, wherein: the sensor
in each remote unit is a temperature sensor; and monitoring the
monitored location comprises computing a mean and a deviation of
temperature reported at the monitored location over an interval of
time by a remote unit designated as the active remote unit.
10. The method of remote monitoring of claim 9, wherein the mean
and the deviation are computed from temperatures reported by a
plurality of remote units within the portion while each remote unit
of the plurality is designated as the active remote unit.
11. The method of remote monitoring of claim 7, wherein: remote
units of the portion that are not designated as the active remote
unit are designated as inactive units; and the method further
comprises, in response to receiving reports from the active and the
inactive remote units, for each received report: when the report is
in a valid format, sending an acknowledgement; and when the report
is not in a valid format, sending a negative acknowledgement.
12. The method of remote monitoring of claim 7, wherein: receiving
reports from the plurality of remote units comprises receiving the
reports over a GSM network.
13. The method of remote monitoring of claim 7, wherein: receiving
reports from the plurality of remote units comprises receiving each
of the reports formatted as a UDP packet.
14. A method of remotely monitoring temperature using at least one
remote unit comprising a temperature sensor and a transceiver, the
method comprising: registering the remote unit with a server over a
first network; sending from the remote unit to the server a
plurality of temperature reports over a second network, each
temperature report comprising an indication of the output of the
temperature sensor at a time associated with the report; and
obtaining information from the server over the first network.
15. The method of remotely monitoring temperature of claim 14,
wherein: the first network comprises the internet; and the second
network comprises a cellular network.
16. The method of remotely monitoring temperature of claim 14,
wherein: obtaining information from the server over the first
network comprises accessing the server using an agent on a
computing device; and the method further comprises, when the
obtained information indicates an improper operating state,
initiating by the agent an action programmed on the computing
device.
17. The method of remotely monitoring temperature of claim 16,
wherein: the programmed action comprises shutting down the
computing device.
18. The method of remotely monitoring temperature of claim 16,
wherein: the programmed action comprises executing a user supplied
program.
19. A method of remotely monitoring temperature using at least one
remote unit comprising a temperature sensor and a transceiver, the
method comprising: registering a remote unit of the at least one
remote units with a server over a first network; sending from the
remote unit to the server a plurality of temperature reports over a
second network, each temperature report comprising an indication of
the output of the temperature sensor at a time associated with the
report; and obtaining information from the server over the second
network.
20. The method of remotely monitoring temperature of claim 19,
wherein: the at least one remote unit is attached to equipment; and
obtaining information from the server over the second network
comprises receiving the information at an actuator at the customer
premises, the actuator being coupled to the equipment.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit
under 35 U.S.C .sctn. 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
15/366,232, which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
on Dec. 1, 2016, which is a continuation of and claims the benefit
under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
14/842,109 (U.S. Pat. No. 9,541,454), which was filed in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office on Sep. 1, 2015, which is a
continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120
of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/041,703, which was filed in
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Sep. 30, 2013, which is a
continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120
of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/554,858 (U.S. Pat. No.
8,547,226), which was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
on Jul. 20, 2012, which is also a continuation of and claims the
benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120 U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/275,971 (U.S. Pat. No. 8,248,252), which was filed in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 21, 2008, each of which is
herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Temperature monitoring is used in many industries. For
example, restaurants and food processing companies that rely on
refrigeration equipment to keep their products fresh frequently use
temperature monitoring. If a malfunction of the refrigeration
equipment is not detected promptly, food could and gets either too
hot or too cold, resulting in damage to the food products. For a
business that relies on food, such damage could result in a large
monetary loss and potentially a serious business disruption.
[0003] As another example, companies that operate servers or other
computer equipment may also monitor temperature of their equipment.
Sometimes, a malfunctioning component of the computer equipment
will generate excessive heat. Thus, a temperature increase may
indicate a defect that may need to corrected. Also, excessive heat
generated by the equipment may cause components to fail because
they are operating beyond their proper operating temperature.
[0004] Temperature monitoring systems are known. These systems
incorporate temperature sensors attached to or mounted near
equipment for which temperature is to be monitored. The system
responds if the temperature sensor indicates a temperature outside
of a normal operating range. One type of response that has been
used is to raise an alarm at facility where the monitored equipment
is located. Some systems use bells, flashing lights or other forms
of audible or visible indications of an improper operating
temperature.
[0005] SchecterTech, LLC, doing business as Temperature@lert, the
assignee of this application for patent, has developed a system for
monitoring computer equipment that does not require that someone be
physically present in the facility where malfunctioning equipment
is located in order to receive an alarm. The Temperature@lert
system uses remote units that combine a temperature sensor and a
USB network interface. The remote unit can be readily attached to a
computer device for which temperature is to be monitored. A small
software agent installed on the computer can receive temperature
readings over the USB interface and, if the sensor indicates a
temperature out of range, can connect to an SMTP server to send an
e-mail alerting a designated party to an improper operating
temperature.
SUMMARY
[0006] The inventors have recognized and appreciated the
desirability of an improved temperature monitoring system.
[0007] Such a system may perform a method of remote monitoring
using a plurality of remote units, in which each remote unit
comprises a sensor and a transceiver. The method comprises
receiving through a web site a registration of a pool comprising at
least a portion of the plurality of remote units. The registration
of the pool comprises an indication of each remote unit of the
portion of the plurality of remote units. The method also comprises
monitoring a monitored location, associating reports received from
the portion of the plurality of remote units with the monitored
location.
[0008] In some embodiments, such a system may perform a method of
remotely monitoring temperature using at least one remote unit
comprising a temperature sensor and a transceiver. The method
comprises registering the remote unit with a server over a first
network. The method also comprises sending from the remote unit to
the server a plurality of temperature reports over a second
network, in which each temperature report comprises an indication
of the output of the temperature sensor at a time associated with
the report. The method also comprises obtaining information from
the server over the first network.
[0009] Yet other embodiments may include a method of remotely
monitoring temperature using at least one remote unit comprising a
temperature sensor and a transceiver. The method comprises
registering the remote unit with a server over a first network and
sending from the remote unit to the server a plurality of
temperature reports over a second network. Each temperature report
comprises an indication of the output of the temperature sensor at
a time associated with the report. The method also comprises
obtaining information from the server over the second network.
[0010] Yet other embodiments include a method of remotely
monitoring temperature using at least one remote unit comprising a
temperature sensor and a transceiver. The method comprises
receiving from the remote unit a plurality of temperature reports,
in which each temperature report comprises an indication of the
output of the temperature sensor at a time associated with the
report. The method also comprises analyzing the temperature reports
to detect a cyclical pattern associated with the temperature and
generating an alarm when a subsequent temperature report indicates
a temperature out of a range. More specifically, when a cyclical
pattern is detected, the method involves subsequently comparing
temperature reports of the plurality of temperature reports to the
cyclical pattern and, when the comparison indicates a temperature
that deviates from the cyclical pattern by more than a threshold
amount the method provides for generating the alarm.
[0011] The foregoing is a non-limiting summary of the invention,
which is defined by the attached claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0012] The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to
scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical
component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by
a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be
labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a sketch of a temperature monitoring system
according to some embodiments of the invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a sketch of a graphical user interface that may be
presented by the system of FIG. 1 to a user registering a
device;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a sketch of a graphical user interface that may be
presented by the system of FIG. 1 to a user accessing information
about monitored locations;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a sketch of the graphical user interface of FIG. 3
in an alternative operating state;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an architectural block diagram of components of
the system of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a remote device according to
some embodiments of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of interaction between a
remote monitoring device and a central server by which the remote
monitoring device provides a monitoring report to the central
server, beginning at the point in which the remote monitoring
device powers on;
[0020] FIG. 8A is a flowchart continuing the process of FIG. 7;
[0021] FIGS. 8B, 8C and 8D are flowcharts illustrating subprocesses
performed in the process illustrated in FIG. 8A;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a sketch illustrating the structure of a packet
communicated between a remote device and a central server according
to some embodiments of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 10A is a sketch of a graphical user interface that may
be presented by the system of FIG. 1 to a user defining pooled
devices;
[0024] FIG. 10B is a sketch of the graphical user interface of FIG.
10A in an alternative operating state;
[0025] FIG. 11 is a sketch of portions of the system of FIG. 1
including a remote location at which pooled devices are used;
[0026] FIG. 12 is a sketch of a portion of the system of FIG. 1,
including a remote location at which a remote device is
reprogrammed for interaction with a central server according to
some embodiments of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing of commands
at a central server according to some embodiments of the
invention;
[0028] FIG. 14 is a flowchart for processing temperature reports
according to some embodiments of the invention; and
[0029] FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method of processing temperature
readings according to some embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] A temperature monitoring system according to some
embodiments of the invention has an architecture that allows
operation even with low cost and easy to install remote units. Yet,
the system is capable of providing a high level of monitoring
functionality and data analysis through the use of a central
server. Low cost operation may be further facilitated through the
use of a protocol that provides low cost communication between the
central server and remote units.
[0031] In some embodiments, the remote units and a central server
communicate using a public, cellular network. Using a public,
wireless network avoids the need for special wiring or connections
between the remote units and the central server, and allows the
remote units to be easily installed, even by a user. Such a network
also allows the remote units to be installed on mobile platforms,
such as refrigerated trucks.
[0032] To enable the server to interact with remote units, even if
the remote units are user installed, the server may provide a web
site or other suitable interface for users to register remote
units. In some embodiments, remote units are distributed with
indicia of an identifier for the device. When a user installs a
device, the user may register the device to provide the server with
the identifier for the device and monitoring parameters associated
with the device.
[0033] To provide low cost remote units, the remote units may be
designed to perform only a small number of functions. In some
embodiments, each remote unit has a timer that can be controlled to
trigger the remote unit to collect and transmit a temperature
reading to the central server. The remote unit may transmit the
temperature measurement and the associated identifier to the server
and receive in response an indication of a value with which to set
the timer to trigger the next measurement and reporting interval.
In between reporting intervals, the remote unit may be placed in a
low power, sleep state.
[0034] Despite the low cost and complexity of each remote unit,
advanced functionality may be provided by the overall system. The
server, for example, may apply one or more criteria to be able to
ascertain, based on simple temperature reports, whether an alarm
should be generated based on the temperature at the location of a
remote unit. The server can then handle all communications
associated with generating the alarm, which may be customized for
each remote unit based on information provided in connection with
the registration of the remote unit. As another example, the system
may support pooling of devices, such that multiple remote units are
associated with the same monitoring location. Such pooling may be
useful, for example, in a mobile monitoring application in which
the remote units operate on battery power. A second pooled remote
unit may be substituted for a first remote unit while the first
unit is connected to AC power for recharging. The system maybe
configured to recognize such a change of remote unit utilization
and automatically adjust its temperature monitoring operations.
[0035] The criteria applied at the server to identify a condition
may include an absolute temperature range, a maximum rate of change
of temperature or deviation, by more than some threshold amount,
from a cyclical pattern of temperature variations. Specific values
for these criteria may be obtained in one or more suitable ways.
For example, the alarm criteria may be based on parameters provided
in connection with the registration of a remote unit or may be
derived adaptively by the server as it processes temperature
reports.
[0036] In addition to or instead of sending an alarm message to a
user via a mechanism such as an e-mail, a text message or a voice
call, the server may respond to an alarm condition by sending a
command to an actuator that may modify the operation of equipment
being monitored. For example, in response to detecting an over
temperature condition for a piece of computer equipment, the server
can send a command to an actuator coupled to a power switch to the
equipment. In response to such a command, the actuator may open the
switch to disconnect power to the equipment. The system
architecture supports low cost actuator devices, which may have a
simple controller and transceiver like a remote monitoring unit.
The controller for the actuator may, when a command packet is sent
to the actuator, trigger operation of the actuator. As with
communications between the server and the remote monitoring units,
in some embodiments, a command to the actuator may be formatted as
a UDP packet communicated over a GSM network.
[0037] The server also may provide information in other formats.
Instead of or in addition to sending alerts to a human user, the
server may also make information available through a web site or
similar interface. In some scenarios, information accessed through
such an interface may be used to present a display to a user on
demand by the user, or may be automatically pulled to a computing
device programmed to analyze and take action based on temperature
monitoring data.
[0038] In some embodiments, the system uses a cellular telephone
network, such as a GSM network, for communication. Though a
cellular network provides widespread network access that can be
exploited with no special infrastructure, use of a cellular network
for data communication can sometimes be expensive, particularly if
a large amount of data or a large number of interactions between a
remote location and a central location are required. However, in
some embodiments, the overall communication cost can be low by
employing a communication protocol that allows monitoring
functionality to be implemented with low communication overhead. As
a result, only a small amount of data is communicated using a
relatively small number of interactions. As an example, each remote
unit may send a UDP packet to communicate a temperature report or a
status change for the device. The server may acknowledge the packet
and provide a new monitoring interval for the remote unit with a
second packet. In instances when the server cannot process the
packet, it may provide a negative acknowledgement. Therefore, with
just two packets exchanged, the remote unit can, in most instances,
communicate a temperature measurement or status change.
[0039] In some embodiments, the server processing the packets
containing temperature data is configured to efficiently and
reliably process the packets with a low packet drop rate. The
server may reliably process packets at a high speed even though the
underlying protocol, such as UDP, may itself be unreliable.
[0040] Nonetheless, the system is fault tolerant. Because the
remote unit receives a response from the server if its packet
reaches the server, the remote unit can identify scenarios in which
a packet did not reach the server and retransmit the packet.
Similarly, because the server sets the reporting interval for each
device, it can ascertain when a remote unit is not generating
reports, and generate an alarm as appropriate.
[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a temperature
monitoring system according to some embodiments of the invention,
as well as several environments in which it can be applied. The
temperature monitoring system includes a portion at one or more
central locations which communicates with devices at one or more
remote locations at which monitoring data is collected and sent to
the central location. Here, the monitored data relates to
temperature data gathered from devices with temperature sensors at
the remote locations, but other types of data may be gathered,
either instead of or in addition to temperature sensor data. Remote
locations may be fixed locations, such as restaurants or computer
data centers, or mobile locations, such as a mobile food truck.
Computing devices at the central and remote locations may
communicate with one another over one or more wired or wireless
communications media.
[0042] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, one central location is shown
for simplicity, though data from remote devices may be received at
a number of central locations. In this example, the central
location includes a temperature monitoring server 106 that can be
connected to one or more communication networks, such as Internet
100 and a cellular network 102. The temperature monitoring server
106 may be implemented by one server computing device or by a
number of server computing devices operating as a unified system.
Temperature monitoring server 106 may receive data, such as
temperature sensor data, from devices at remote locations,
efficiently process the data, and take various actions if the data
does not conform to certain criteria. For example, if the
temperature rises beyond a specified threshold, temperature
monitoring server 106 may alert a customer or send a remote command
to activate a back-up air-conditioning or refrigeration or heating
unit.
[0043] Temperature monitoring server 106 may store the data in a
computer storage medium, such as database 108. Database 108 may be
on the same computing device as temperature monitoring server 106,
or it may be on one or more separate computing devices loaded with
database software, such as MySQL, and may be connected to the
temperature monitoring server 106 over a communication link. Data
that may be stored includes historical data gathered from remote
devices, as well as the historical results of processing that data.
Additionally, data may be stored to be used in processing
monitoring reports, such as data to indicate permissible
temperature limits associated with monitoring devices, or actions
to be taken in response to a monitoring report that is outside of a
specified range.
[0044] One or more mechanisms may be provided to add, delete or
otherwise manipulate data in database 108. Likewise, one or more
mechanisms may be provided to access the data. For example,
temperature monitoring server 106 may allow users of the remote
devices to access the stored data in various forms and through a
variety of interfaces, such as, for example, a web browser
interface providing device status, and an XML data stream sent to a
customer's computer.
[0045] Customer environments 110, 120, and 130 are examples of
remote locations at which data, such as temperature sensor data,
may be gathered. Customer environments 110 and 120 are examples of
computer data centers, and customer environment 130 provides an
example of a mobile remote location, as it includes a refrigerated
food truck 132. However, the invention is not limited to these
examples of remote locations.
[0046] In the illustrated embodiment of a temperature monitoring
system, devices in remote locations may incorporate or be
electrically connected to temperature sensors, which may gather
temperature data corresponding to their environment. Users of these
devices may place the devices in close proximity to objects whose
temperature they are interested in monitoring. For example, devices
may be placed close to a particularly important server computer, or
next to a perishable food item in a refrigerator truck. Devices may
also be placed so that they monitor the ambient temperature of an
environment, whether that be a computer data center, such as
customer environments 110 and 120, or a mobile food truck, such as
customer environment 130.
[0047] According to some embodiments, remote monitoring devices may
be relatively simple and low cost devices. They may be positioned
and activated at remote locations without any special wiring or
installation procedures. For example, each remote device may be
battery operated and communicate wirelessly with temperature
monitoring server 106. Accordingly, installation of a remote
monitoring device may be performed by connecting the device to a
power source, such as a battery or AC output, and positioning the
device in a location where temperature is to be measured. The
simplicity of the remote monitoring devices allows the monitoring
devices to be installed by a customer or other user of the system.
Accordingly, remote monitoring devices may be distributed to
customers for installation in customer environments.
[0048] Devices may be provided to users by any of a variety of
distribution methods, including through retail establishments, and
through direct orders with the device manufacturer. Regardless of
the means of distribution of a remote device, each remote device
may need to be registered with the central location in order to be
used in the temperature monitoring system. Some devices may be
distributed pre-registered, and other devices may need to be
registered by the user of the device. Registration of the device
may entail sending to the central location device-specific
information, user contact information, monitoring preferences or
other information used in monitoring for a customer environment
where a device is to be installed. Various means of sending the
necessary registration information may be employed, including
physically mailing in a registration card. Registration may also be
completed via the Internet or via a telephone, such as through a
touch-tone or a voice-recognition interface. Though, any suitable
mechanism may be used to convey registration data.
[0049] In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, in order to use a
device in the temperature monitoring system, a user of the remote
device may register the device with a web server 104, by providing
to web server 104 registration data, such as device-specific
information and monitoring criteria. Web server 104 may be loaded
with HTTP server software, such as Apache HTTP Server or Microsoft
Internet Information Services (IIS). Like database 108, web server
104 may be located on the same computing device as temperature
monitoring server 106, or it may be located on one or more separate
computing devices and may be connected to temperature monitoring
server 106 via a communications link such as Internet 100. Web
server 104 may alternatively or additionally be connected via a
communications link to database 108, and may store the registration
data in database 108.
[0050] In the example illustrated by FIG. 1, devices 140, 142, 144,
146, 148, and 150 are devices that gather data at customer sites
110, 120, and 130. Each device comprises a circuit component, such
as circuit components 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, and 172, to which
may be electrically connected a temperature sensor, such as
temperature sensors 152, 154, 156, 158, and 160. The circuit
components connected to temperature sensors may gather temperature
data from their respective customer environments based on the
sensor outputs and may communicate that data to the central
location over a communication link. For example, temperature sensor
152 in device 140 gathers ambient temperature data reflecting the
temperature of monitored server 112; temperature sensor 154 in
device 142 gathers temperature data reflecting the temperature of
monitored server 122, and temperature sensor 160 in device 150
gathers temperature data reflecting the temperature in refrigerated
food truck 132 carrying refrigerated food item 134.
[0051] Devices at remote locations may be configured to send data
to the temperature monitoring server 106 via a variety of
communications links, illustrated in the example of FIG. 1 by
Internet 100 and cellular network 102. The circuit component in
each device may also be electrically coupled to a wired interface,
such as wired interfaces 174, 176, and 178, allowing such devices
to communicate with other computing devices, including the
temperature monitoring server 106 over Internet 100. The circuit
component may additionally or alternatively be coupled to a
wireless interface, such as wireless interfaces 180, 182, and 184.
Such devices may communicate over a wireless network, such as
cellular network 102, with the temperature monitoring server
106.
[0052] Device 140 in customer site 110 is an example of a device,
as is known in the art, that gathers temperature sensor data, but
which has not been registered with the temperature monitoring
system via web server 108. Device 140, in this example, does not
send the data it gathers to temperature monitoring server 106. In
this case, device 140 is connected via wired interface 174, such as
a USB or Ethernet link, to a computing device at a customer site,
such as client desktop computer 114. A software agent may be loaded
onto the client desktop computer 114 to receive the temperature
sensor data from device 140. The client desktop computer 114 may
also have connectivity to an email server 118 over a private
network 116. The client desktop computer 114 may process the
temperature sensor data, and may send out an email alert via email
server 118 if the temperature data is past a specified
threshold.
[0053] In the operating state illustrated in FIG. 1, devices 142,
144, 146, 148, and 150 at customer environments 120 and 130 have
been registered with the temperature monitoring system, and
communicate with temperature monitoring server 106. Accordingly,
they may send monitoring data, such as temperature sensor data, at
periodic reporting intervals to temperature monitoring server 106
for processing and storing. The temperature monitoring server 106
may efficiently process the data, which may include comparing the
temperature sensor data received from a device against
location-specific monitoring criteria. The temperature monitoring
server 106 may communicate instructions to the registered device in
response to data it has received from the device, such as the time
of the next reporting interval for the device.
[0054] After processing the data, the temperature monitoring server
106 may send customer alerts if, for example, the temperature
sensor data from a device indicates an operating condition that
deviates from an acceptable value or range of values. The
temperature monitoring server may also send a customer alert if it
fails to receive data from a device within an expected reporting
interval or in response to other detected conditions. The
temperature monitoring system may support different types of
customer alerts. For example, it may send a phone call alert 197 or
an SMS alert 198 to a phone number assigned to customer phone 136.
The temperature monitoring server 106 may also send an email alert
199, which may be received by a customer on a computing device,
such as customer laptop 126.
[0055] The temperature monitoring server 106 may also communicate
data to a software agent 124. Software agent 124 may be a computing
device at a customer site loaded with software configured to
receive from the temperature monitoring server 106 temperature
sensor data originating from one or more devices associated with
the customer site. The data may be communicated as in an XML data
stream or in any other suitable format. The data may be pulled by
the agent from temperature monitoring server 106. Though, in other
embodiments, temperature monitoring server 106 may initiate the
data transfer. Regardless of how the data transfer is initiated or
formatted, software agent 124 may perform one or more actions
configured by the customer analyzing the data. For example, it may
display a large message on a screen, trigger an on-site alarm, or
execute another command specified by the user. In instances in
which the agent is executing on a computing device being monitored,
the agent may power itself down.
[0056] Any suitable processing may be performed by temperature
monitoring server 106 to detect an out-of-range condition. For
example, a customer site may include one or more heating,
ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) units, such as HVAC unit
128 at customer environment 120. The typical operation of the HVAC
unit 128 may produce a cyclical temperature pattern, which may be
detected by the temperature monitoring server 106 by processing
temperature sensor data sent from customer environment 120. If the
temperature monitoring server 106 detects that the current
temperature pattern deviates from the typical cyclical temperature
pattern, temperature monitoring server 106 may send an alert to the
customer, such as email alert 199, received on customer laptop
126.
[0057] The temperature monitoring server 106 may also communicate
data in a fashion that affects operations at a customer site. For
example, a circuit component with a transceiver adapted for
communication with temperature monitoring server 106 may be coupled
to an actuator at the customer site. A packet received from the
temperature monitoring server 106 through the transceiver of the
circuit component may control operation of the actuator. The
circuit component coupled to the actuator may be a dedicated
circuit component or may be a circuit component connected to a
temperature sensor in a monitoring device. In the example of FIG.
1, a device, such as device 144, is also electrically connected to
an actuator, such as actuator 192. Actuator 192 may be electrically
connected to a power source 194, and may also be electrically
connected to equipment at the customer site, such as HVAC unit 128.
Actuator 192 may include a switch. In response to a command from
the temperature monitoring server 106, device 144 may close the
switch in actuator 192, causing the actuator to power on or power
off the equipment, such as HVAC unit 128. For example, HVAC 128 may
be a back-up air-conditioning unit, and the temperature monitoring
server 106 may send a command causing actuator 192 to power on HVAC
unit 128 if the temperature monitoring server detects that
temperature sensor data from monitoring devices at customer site
120 indicate that the temperature is not within an acceptable
range.
[0058] As noted above, monitoring devices may be easily installed.
This capability allows for one monitoring device to replace another
at the same location. Such a capability may be used, for example,
in a scenario in which devices are battery-powered. When the
battery power of one monitoring device runs low, the device may be
replaced by another monitoring device with a charged battery.
Similar replacement may occur if a device is defective or otherwise
ceases to operate. Though the device monitoring a particular
location changes, it may be desirable to associate temperature
measurements made by the replacement device with the history
established by measurements using the prior device. To allow
multiple devices to be associated with the same location,
temperature monitoring server 106 may support pooled devices.
Monitoring reports from devices associated with the same pool will
be identified by temperature monitoring server 106 as relating to
the same monitored location. Customer environment 130 illustrates
an embodiment of the invention in which devices are pooled. A
device may join a pool of devices, such as devices 146, 148, and
150, in which the data from only one device is at a time, called
the active device, is processed by temperature monitoring server
106, the other devices in the pool serving as back-up devices. In
some embodiments of the invention, the configuration of a device
pool may require registering a pool, including a list of devices
associated with the pool, with the central location. As discussed
above in conjunction with the registration of devices, the
registration of device pools may be done by a variety of methods,
including mailing in a registration card or communicating to the
central location via the Internet or a telephone interface. In an
embodiment of the invention, a user may register a device pool
using a web browser interface by connecting to web server 104 over
the Internet.
[0059] In the illustration of FIG. 1, device 150 corresponds to the
active device in the pool, while devices 146 and 148 correspond to
back-up devices. Devices 146, 148, and 150 may each comprise a
rechargeable battery. Grouping devices in a pool allows a customer
to make a quick substitution of the active device in a pool with a
fully charged second device in the pool when, for example, the
battery in the active device is depleted. While the active device
is in operation, the battery of one or more of the back-up devices
in the pool may be charging. In the illustrated embodiment, device
148 is currently charging its battery while it is connected to
power source 196. The temperature monitoring server 106 may
automatically change the currently active device when it detects a
change in power state of devices in the pool, such as if the active
device changes from running on battery power to using an external
power source, such as power source 196 and/or an inactive device
changes from running on an external power source to running on
battery power.
[0060] As noted above, a device may be registered in any suitable
way. However, in some embodiments, devices may be registered
through a web-based user interface to temperature monitoring server
106. Such a user interface may be presented by temperature
monitoring server 106 using techniques as are known in the art.
FIG. 2 illustrates an interface for registering a new device with
the temperature monitoring system, thus allowing communication
between the device and the temperature monitoring server 106. A
user may connect to web server 104 via a web browser interface
200.
[0061] The interface 200 may be presented on any web-enabled
computer used to access temperature monitoring server 106. The user
may select a portion of the interface for registering a new device,
such as new device registration interface 218. The new device
registration interface 218 may contain input fields, allowing the
user to input registration data. For example, the interface may
contain a device ID input field 202, into which the user may input
a unique device identifier. In some embodiments of the invention,
the device identifier is programmed in computer memory within a
circuit component of the monitoring device before delivery to a
customer. The device identifier may also be associated with the
device in some way that it can be observed by a user and presented
during the registration process. A simple mechanism for making the
device identifier available to the user may be affixing a tag to
the monitoring device on which the device identifier is printed.
However, any suitable mechanism for making the device identifier
available during the registration process may be employed. For
example, each monitoring device may include a computer interface
such that an agent executing on a computer displaying user
interface 200 may access the stored device identifier within the
circuit component of the device.
[0062] In addition to the device identifier, a user may also
provide other information as part of the registration process. The
user may also input a name for the device into a device name input
field 204, allowing the user to associate a meaningful name with
the device. The user can also input temperature monitoring criteria
for the device into low temperature alarm input field 206 and high
temperature alarm input field 208, specifying the minimum and
maximum values, respectively, of an acceptable temperature range
detected by the device. Though, any suitable temperature monitoring
criteria may be supplied. For example, in some embodiments, a user
may specify other criteria such as a maximum rate of change of
temperature or a minimum or maximum period of temperature cycles.
Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the nature of
temperature monitoring criteria accepted by temperature monitoring
server 106.
[0063] Other information provided during the registration process
may include information allowing temperature monitoring server 106
to take action in response to detecting an impermissible
temperature in accordance with the specified temperature monitoring
criteria. For example, temperature monitoring server 106 may
generate an alert message in response to detecting such a
condition. In this scenario, the interface may also include an
email address input field 210, an SMS alert input field 212, and a
telephone number alert input field 214, for specifying the user's
contact information if temperature monitoring server needs to send
out an alert. The new device registration interface 218 may also
include a monitoring interval input field, enabling the user to
choose a default periodic time interval for which the device should
regularly transmit data to the temperature monitoring server
106.
[0064] As noted above, a user may access information about devices
operated by the user through a web-based interface. The user may
access information on registered devices through a different user
interface than used to register devices. Though, in some
embodiments, a single user interface may support different display
areas through which a user may perform different functions
associated with temperature monitoring at the user's locations.
FIG. 3 illustrates another portion of the user interface, a current
conditions interface 300, which may also be accessed using web
browser interface 200. Current conditions interface 300 may display
an overview of the current condition of each registered device to
which a customer has access. Information in the display for each
device may include a status indicator 302, which may indicate
whether or not the temperature sensor data received from the device
is normal. The information may also include a device ID indicator
304 and a device name indicator 306, displaying the device ID and
device name received as input in the new device registration
interface 218. The current conditions interface 300 may also
display a last reading indicator 308, providing the latest
temperature reading received from the device. Programmed monitoring
conditions may also be displayed. For example, high alarm setting
310 and low alarm setting 312 display the current settings of the
maximum and minimum acceptable temperatures, respectively, for each
device. Monitoring interval display 314 may indicate the current
monitoring interval for the device.
[0065] Any suitable amount of information may be displayed through
a user interface. In some embodiments, a user interface 200 may
support displays of different amounts of information based on user
input. FIG. 4 illustrates another feature of the current conditions
interface 300, in which the user has instructed the current
conditions interface 300 to display more detailed information for
one of the devices being monitored. In this illustration, the user
has selected to view more detailed information for a selected
device 408 with a status indicator 302 of "Alarm!" In the
embodiment illustrated, the data from the last two sensor readings
for the selected device 408 is displayed. For each of the last two
sensor readings of the selected device 408, the current conditions
interface 300 displays a time stamp 400 indicating the time when
the sensor reading was received by the temperature monitoring
server 106, as well as a temperature reading 402. A command ID 404
and command payload 406 is also displayed for each of the last two
sensor readings.
[0066] As described above in connection with FIG. 1, remote
monitoring devices may be relatively simple to install and operate
because they use a wireless network to communicate with the
temperature monitoring server 106. In the illustrated example, the
devices communicate over a cellular network. Though a cellular
network provides the advantage of being widespread and easily
accessible regardless of the customer locations at which monitoring
is desired, transmission of data over a cellular network can be
relatively expensive. Accordingly, remote devices and temperature
monitoring server 106 may be configured to transmit a relatively
small amount of data over the cellular network. For this approach
to be effective, temperature monitoring server 106 must be
configured to receive and accurately process the data from all
remote monitoring devices coupled to the server. FIG. 5 illustrates
an embodiment of the temperature monitoring server 106 adapted to
receive and reliably process data from a large number of remote
devices. It is to be appreciated that the various components
illustrated in FIG. 5 may all be implemented in one computing
device, or they may instead be spread across a number of computing
devices interconnected by a computer network. For example, while
database 108 is illustrated in FIG. 5 as a component of the
temperature monitoring server, it may instead be its own computing
device loaded with database software, as was illustrated by FIG.
1.
[0067] In an embodiment of the invention, the communication between
the temperature monitoring server 106 and registered devices is via
UDP. As is known in the art, UDP is a best effort protocol, unlike
TCP which provides for error checking and retransmission of lost
packets. As a result of these differences, UDP, has a much smaller
overhead compared to TCP in terms of the total number of bytes that
need to be transferred over a communications link. This reduction
in number of bytes transferred when using UDP versus TCP can
provide a significant cost savings to users of the temperature
monitoring system who might be charged by their telecommunications
provider for the number of bytes transferred. This cost savings may
be particularly relevant when transferring data over a cellular
network, such as cellular network 102, in which data transfer rates
typically are relatively expensive. In a typical implementation of
a UDP server, however, packets can be easily lost when the UDP
traffic overwhelms the server. In the embodiment of the temperature
monitoring server 106 which communicates to devices via UDP, the
temperature monitoring server may be able to process incoming
device data in the form of UDP packets at a very high rate without
the loss of data.
[0068] In the example of FIG. 5, registered devices 522, 524, 526,
528, 530, 532, and 534 may communicate with the temperature
monitoring server 106 over one or more UDP interfaces, such as UDP
interfaces 516, 518, and 520. A service may be associated with each
UDP interface. For example, services 510, 512, and 514 are
associated with UDP interfaces 516, 518, and 520, respectively.
When a UDP message arrives from a registered device over a UDP
interface, such as UDP interface 516, the associated service, such
as service 510, may assign a thread from a pool of inactive threads
to service the message. The assigned thread may validate the
message, using a CRC, for example, break up the message into its
component commands, validate each command, and place each valid
command and its payload onto a shared queue 508.
[0069] After placing each command onto the shared queue 508, the
assigned thread is free to service another message. The use of the
shared queue allows the threads to rapidly service a message and
move on to receive another message, and is particularly well suited
to the distribution of services onto multiple computing devices.
For example, services 510, 512, and 514 may run on separate
computing devices, all having access to shared queue 508. This
architecture allows for rapidly processing incoming requests and
minimizes the likelihood that a UDP packet may be lost due to an
overwhelming load on the temperature monitoring server 106.
[0070] One or more controllers, such as controllers 502, 504, and
506 may remove a command placed on the shared queue 508, and locate
a processor that is able to process the command. In this context,
each command indicates a type of action to be performed by
temperature monitoring server 106 in response to a received
message. Accordingly, a "command" may indicate that the message
includes a temperature reading to be processed by temperature
monitoring server 106 or that a remote device has changed state.
Accordingly, any suitable processing may be performed in response
to receiving a command.
[0071] As in the discussion with services 510, 512, and 514, in
various embodiments of the temperature monitoring server 106, a
computing device may run more than one controller, and controllers
502, 504, and 506 may be distributed across a number of computing
devices. For example, each of the controllers may operate on a
separate computing device. Alternatively, multiple controllers may
be implemented through the use of software programming on a single
computing device. In an embodiment, controllers are version-aware,
and may be easily configured to handle new command types.
Processors process a data payload in a command message, and may
rely on database 108 for reading and writing data received from
registered devices or for results of computations performed based
on that data.
[0072] FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the components of a
device, such as device 150, that may be registered with the
temperature monitoring server 106. In the embodiment illustrated, a
device configured to act as the remote device may include a sensor,
such as temperature sensor 618 and/or an actuator, such as actuator
620. In addition, the device may include circuit components that
convey information between the temperature sensor 618 and/or
actuator 620 and the central location, such as temperature
monitoring server 106. In the example of FIG. 6, the temperature
sensor 618 and actuator 620 may be coupled to the circuit
components through a separable interface 619. However, any suitable
mechanism for integrating a temperature sensor and/or an actuator
with circuit components may be employed.
[0073] In the embodiment of FIG. 6, circuit components of the
device include a microcontroller 600, a real-time clock 602, a
FLASH memory 604, one or more network interfaces, such as cellular
modem 622 and/or wired interface 624, and a power system, which
provides power to the components of the device.
[0074] In the embodiment illustrated, the power system includes
components that enable operation from a rechargeable battery and/or
from AC power from a wall outlet. Accordingly, in this example, the
power system includes a rechargeable battery 614 and a DC wall
adapter 616. A battery charger 612 may be coupled to receive power
through DC wall adapter 616 and generate a charging current for
battery 614. One or more voltage converters may be included in the
power management system to generate power at voltages used by other
components of the device. In the embodiment illustrated, a 3.3V
DC/DC converter 606 and a 5V DC/DC converter 608 are shown. These
converters generate 3.3V and 5V respectively. However, the specific
power levels used by components within the device are not critical
to the invention and any suitable power levels may be used. As
shown, the power system of the device includes a power switch 610
that may select between battery 614 and DC wall adapter 616. Power
switch 610 may be included to allow automated switching between
battery power and power from DC wall adapter 616. For example,
power switch 610 may be configured to switch to power from DC wall
adapter 616 in scenarios in which such power is available, but to
use power from battery 614 when power from DC wall adapter 616 is
not available, which would occur in scenarios in which the device
is not plugged in to an AC wall outlet or other source of AC power.
The components of the power portion of the device illustrated in
FIG. 6 may be components of the type used in portable electronic
devices, but any suitable components may be used.
[0075] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, microcontroller 600
interfaces with each of the other portions of the device.
Connections between the components illustrated in FIG. 6 may be
made in any suitable way. For example, each of the illustrated
components may be soldered to a printed circuit board or
interconnected in any other suitable way.
[0076] Regardless of the manner in which connections are made
between the components, those connections may enable the components
to interact to perform functions of a remote device. As shown in
FIG. 6, microcontroller 600 is coupled to FLASH memory 604. FLASH
memory 604 may hold computer-executable instructions that can be
executed by microcontroller 600 to perform monitoring functions. In
addition, FLASH memory 604 may store a device identifier and other
information used by a remote device as it operates in a monitoring
system.
[0077] As shown, microcontroller 600 also interfaces with one or
more network interfaces, such as cellular modem 622 or wired
interface 624. Through these network interfaces, microcontroller
600 may exchange messages with a central location, such as
temperature monitoring server 106. As shown, cellular modem 622 is
coupled to an antenna 628 through which messages can be sent and
received.
[0078] Microcontroller 600 may be programmed to obtain data from
external temperature sensor 618 and formatted in a message that is
transmitted over one or more of the supported network interfaces.
The time at which such measurements are obtained and transmitted
may be determined by operation of real time clock 602. In some
embodiments, microcontroller 600, upon sending a message containing
data obtained from temperature sensor 618, may set real time clock
602 at which a subsequent measurement is to be taken and
transmitted. Accordingly, when real time clock indicates that the
time has been reached, it may send a signal to microcontroller 600,
triggering microcontroller 600 to obtain the subsequent measurement
and transmit it. In this example, real time clock 602 may be
implemented simply as a counter/timer circuit.
[0079] Microcontroller 600 may also be coupled to other circuit
components that provide input data or trigger microcontroller 600
to perform some action. For example, power switch 610 is shown
connected to microcontroller 600. In this embodiment, power switch
610 is configured to signal microcontroller 600 when the power
state of the device changes such that the device changes from
battery power to AC power or vice versa. Additionally, power switch
610 may be configured to provide to microcontroller 600 data
indicating the current power state of the device. This information
may trigger microcontroller 600 to send a message to the central
location indicating a changed power state, as described in further
detail below.
[0080] Messages received through one or more of the network
interfaces may also trigger microcontroller 600 to take action. For
example, in embodiments in which actuator 620 is present, a message
containing a command to microcontroller 600 to operate actuator 620
may trigger microcontroller 600 to send control signals to actuator
620. As another example, the monitoring interval tracked by real
time clock 602 may be established based on commands sent from the
central location. In this embodiment, in response to a command
specifying the next monitoring interval received through one of the
network interfaces, microcontroller 600 may load a value into real
time clock 602.
[0081] Microcontroller 600, real time clock 602, FLASH memory 604,
wired network interface 624 and antenna 628 may be electronic
components as are used in portable electronic devices as are known
in the art. However, any suitable components may be used. These
components may support low power modes of operation, such as
conventionally called "sleep mode." For example, in sleep mode,
microcontroller 600, modem 622 and network interface 624 may be
powered down. These components may be powered up in response to an
event indicating that the remote device should perform an action.
Such an event may be generated, for example, by real time clock 602
indicating that the next monitoring interval has been reached or by
power switch 610 indicating a change of power state of the device.
Techniques for implementing such a sleep mode are known in the art,
and may be employed in a remote device as illustrated in FIG. 6.
However, any suitable techniques may be employed.
[0082] External temperature sensor 618 and actuator 620 may also be
devices as are known in the art. However, any suitable sensor and
actuator devices may be employed.
[0083] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for an illustrative embodiment of the
interaction between a device 700 equipped with a temperature sensor
and a central location such as a server 702, starting at the point
when device 700 is first powered on. Server 702 may be configured
as a temperature monitoring server. When the device is first
powered on in step 704, it starts charging its battery. In step
706, device 700 gathers a reading of its external temperature. In
step 708, device 700 then sends to server 702 the temperature
reading gathered in step 706, along with its device ID, power
status, and firmware version. Device 700 then waits for the server
response in step 710.
[0084] Upon receiving the device's data, server 702 sends a time
interval X to device 700, indicating the time interval to the next
temperature reading from device 700. In step 714, device 700 sets a
hardware timer to wake up at the end time interval X. Device 700
then powers down the microcontroller in step 716, though the
real-time clock may continue to run. This represents the end of the
initial power-on sequence. The flow chart continues at block 718
and 720 of FIG. 8A.
[0085] FIG. 8A continues where FIG. 7 left off, and illustrates an
embodiment of the main control flow between a remote device that is
powered-on and equipped with a temperature sensor and a server,
which may be configured as a temperature monitoring server. It
should be appreciated that, similar to the discussion in
conjunction with FIG. 5, while the functionality ascribed to the
server in the discussion that follows may suggest that it is all
performed by the same server computing device, the server may in
some embodiments be implemented by multiple computing devices
configured to act together as a cohesive system. In some
embodiments, multiple server computing devices implementing the
server may each perform different portions of the functionality
ascribed to the server. In other embodiments, there may be multiple
server computing devices performing the same functionality as one
another, but configured to evenly distribute incoming data from
remote devices. Some combination of these two approaches is also
possible in still other embodiments.
[0086] Regardless of the hardware components on which the process
of FIG. 8A is performed, the process continues at block 800. At
block 800, the remote device repeatedly checks if its timer (set to
X in step 714) has expired. If the timer has expired, the flow
proceeds to step 802, in which the microcontroller and any other
components of the remote device in a "sleep" mode may wake up in
response to an output of the real-time clock. The remote device
then may read the external temperature from a temperature sensor in
block 810. In block 812, the remote device may then detect any
power change and send device data to the central server. More
details for step 812 are provided in FIG. 8B.
[0087] Turning momentarily to FIG. 8B, at step 814, the remote
device checks to see if its power state has changed. If the power
state has not changed, the control flow proceeds to block 816, in
which the device sends its device ID and latest temperature reading
gathered in step 810 to the central server. If the power state has
changed, however, the flow proceeds instead to block 818, in which
the device may store its new power state in internal memory. In
block 820, the device sends to the central server its device ID,
new power status, and latest temperature reading.
[0088] Turning back to FIG. 8A, at block 836, the central server
checks to see if it has received data from the remote device. If
not, it checks at block 838 if the expected reporting interval X
has expired. If it has, the server may, at step 840, send an alert
to the user. As discussed above, the alert may take one of various
forms, including email, SMS, or phone call. On the other hand, if
the central server has received data from the device, it proceeds
to step 842 in which it services and validates the message
received. More details of step 842 are provided in FIG. 8C.
[0089] Turning momentarily to FIG. 8C, at block 844, the central
server may assign a thread from a thread pool to service the
received message. In servicing the message at block 846, the thread
may validate the message. In an embodiment of the invention,
messages sent from the remote device include an error detecting
code, such as a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Validating the
message includes checking that the message has been received
without an error by checking that it has a valid CRC. Validating
the message may also include checking that any commands in the
message are valid. As noted above, each message that causes the
central server to perform an action may be regarded as a command.
In some embodiments, the system is configured to recognize a
limited number of such actions. A valid command includes a code
identifying one of the limited number of actions to be taken.
Processing at block 846 may include comparing a value in a received
message to a list of codes corresponding to the recognized
commands. However, any suitable processing may be used to validate
a message.
[0090] Turning back to FIG. 8A, based on the output of the
computation of block 842, the server may then check in step 848 to
see if the message is valid. If it is not valid, the server may
indicate this to the remote device. In an embodiment of the
invention, the central server does this in step 850 by sending to
the remote device a special non-acknowledgment packet, called a
NAK. If the server determines instead that the message is valid in
step 848, it then sends to the remote device a new time interval X'
in step 852. In some embodiments, the new time interval X' may be
the same as the interval X provided at block 712 (FIG. 7). However,
as described below, in situations in which a remote device reports
a temperature that is near or exceeds a limit of acceptable
operation, the monitoring interval may be reduced. Accordingly, the
time interval X' sent at step 852 alternatively may be different
than a previously supplied monitoring interval. At step 854, the
server processes the command. More details of step 854 are provided
in FIG. 8D.
[0091] Turning momentarily to FIG. 8D, at step 856, the server may
place each command on a shared queue. At step 858, the server
selects a processor to process each command. In an embodiment of
the invention, this step may be done by one of multiple controllers
that removes the command from a shared queue. For example, the
controller may locate a processor appropriate for the command,
possibly taking into account command version information, in which
case it would find a processor which can support the version of the
command sent by the remote device.
[0092] In step 860, the assigned processor processes each command.
More details of step 860 are given in FIG. 13, which will be
discussed below. Step 860 may include, inter alia, analyzing the
temperature sensor data according to monitoring criteria, sending
out customer alerts if the temperature data lies outside of a
specified range, storing the gathered data and the results, and
computing a new time interval. Control then proceeds back to block
836 in FIG. 8A, in which the central server waits for the device
data.
[0093] Returning to FIG. 8A, at block 822, the remote device checks
to see if it has received a response from the server. If it has
received a response, it proceeds to step 830, where it checks to
see if the response is a NAK. If the response from the central
server is not a NAK, in step 832, the remote device sets its timer
for the new time interval X' contained in the response from the
server. X' may differ from X, if for example, the server detected
that the latest temperature reading is not within a specified
range, in which case the central server may send a value X' that
corresponds to a more frequent reporting interval than X. After
setting its timer for X', the remote device may power down its
microcontroller and possibly other components in step 834. Control
then proceeds back to block 800 in which the remote device checks
to see if its timer expired.
[0094] Returning to block 822, if the remote device determines that
it has not received a response from the server, it may check in
block 824 whether the expected response interval has expired. In an
embodiment of the invention, the remote device may be configured
with a time interval, which may differ from X or X', in which the
remote device expects a response from the central server. If the
expected response interval has not expired, control proceeds back
to block 822.
[0095] If, on the other hand, the remote device determines that its
expected response interval has expired, it proceeds to step 826, in
which it checks to see if it has exceeded the maximum number of
retries. In an embodiment of the invention, the device is
configured to retransmit its message to the server up to a maximum
number of retries. The device may have been pre-configured with
this maximum number, or the maximum number may be configurable by
the user of the device or, in some embodiments, may be sent in a
command from a central server. Regardless of how this value is
specified, if the retry count has not exceed the maximum number of
retries, the retry count is incremented at step 828 and the process
returns to block 812 where the device data is retransmitted. If, on
the other hand, the retry count has exceeded its maximum number,
the remote device resets its retry count at step 827. The process
then proceeds to block 832, in which the remote device sets the
timer for X, powers down the microcontroller in step 834, and
returns to step 800, in which it waits for the timer to expire.
[0096] Returning to block 830, if the remote device determines that
a NAK was received, it proceeds to step 826, in which it checks to
see if the retry count has exceed the maximum number of retries. In
an embodiment of the invention, the retransmission logic upon
receiving a NAK may be identical to the retry logic upon detecting
that the expected response interval has expired. It is to be
appreciated, though, that in other embodiments, these two
conditions may be treated differently by the remote device, for
example, by retrying a different number of times if one condition
is encountered versus the other. The processes in FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B,
8C and 8D illustrate a central server communicating with a single
remote device. Any number of remote devices may be incorporated
into a system, and each remote device may communicate with the
central server at asynchronous times. Accordingly, though FIGS. 7
and 8A . . . 8D illustrate a linear flow, the processing
represented in those figures may be performed in any number of
parallel paths and may be duplicated for any number of remote
devices communicating with a central server. Likewise, when
multiple central servers are available, the processing may also be
duplicated on any number of central servers.
[0097] FIG. 9 illustrates a possible embodiment for the internal
protocol and the format of a message sent between a remote device
and the temperature monitoring server 106. As discussed above, in
one embodiment of the invention, the messages are sent using a
best-efforts protocol, such as the UDP protocol, which has a much
lower overhead in terms of number of bytes transferred compared to
TCP. In the embodiment illustrated, each command is sent as a
single UDP packet. It should be appreciated, however, that the
message illustrated in FIG. 9 may be sent over any suitable
transport protocol, including TCP.
[0098] The format for messages exchanged between remote devices and
the temperature monitoring server 106 may begin with a one-byte
command count field 900, which specifies the number of commands
contained within the given message. Following command count field
900 may be a device ID field 902, of size n bytes, which uniquely
identifies the remote device. Following device ID field 902, may be
a one-byte command ID field 904, specifying a command identifier
for a particular command. Valid command identifiers will be
discussed below. A command data field 906 may immediately follow
command ID field 904, containing the data payload associated with
the command in command ID field 904. Command data field 906 may be
one byte in size, but the size of command data payloads in general
may be variable, depending on the type of command. For example, a
command carrying a temperature reading may have more bytes of
payload data than a command indicating that a power change has
occurred. Following the first command ID and command payload may be
one or more additional commands with their associated payload. In
this illustration, one-byte command ID field 908 follows command
data field 906. Command data field 910 follows, containing the data
payload for the command in command ID field 908. Note that in this
illustration, command data field 910 is two bytes in size,
indicating that the command in command ID field 908 requires two
bytes in its data payload. Following the data payload for the last
command in the message may be a CRC field 912, containing a CRC
value for the entire message, which may be validated by the
temperature monitoring server 106, as described in conjunction with
FIGS. 8A-8D.
[0099] Table 914 contains a chart of valid commands in some
embodiments of the protocol between a remote device and the
temperature monitoring server 106. As can be seen from table 914,
in this embodiment, a remote device can send at least three
commands, u, t, and p. Command u may have a data payload of length
one byte. It may contain the firmware version and an indication
that the device has just powered on. Command t may have a length of
two bytes, and may contain a temperature reading for the remote
device. Command p may have a length of one byte, and indicates a
power change, such as between running on battery power versus
running on an external power source. In this illustrated protocol,
the temperature monitoring server 106 may send at least one
command, i, of length one byte, which contains the new reporting
interval for the remote device.
[0100] In keeping with the desire in some embodiments to keep the
number of bytes transferred between remote devices and the
temperature monitoring server 106 to a low number, the illustrated
message format uses a minimal number of bytes. Other embodiments of
the protocol are certainly possible, including the addition of
command types that can be sent by both the remote device and the
temperature monitoring server 106.
[0101] Also in keeping with the desire to keep each remote device
simple, the embodiment of FIG. 9 illustrates that a remote device
may be implemented to generate and respond to a small number of
commands. In the specific example of FIG. 9, each device needs to
generate only three types of messages and respond one type of
message. Moreover, the remote device can generate or respond to
each type of command with relatively simple processing, yet
relatively complex functioning can be implemented. One of the
functions that may be implemented is pooling of devices.
[0102] As discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1, in some
embodiments, the temperature monitoring system may support grouping
two or more remote devices configured to operate at the same
location into a device pool. Pooling may be useful in mobile
environments in which the remote devices need to run on battery
power. While one active device in the pool is running on battery
power, other devices in the pool may be charging or may be powered
off in order to conserve their battery life. When the battery of
the currently active device is depleted, it may be swapped out for
another fully charged device in the pool. According to some
embodiments, the temperature monitoring server 106 may recognize
devices associated with a pool and identify which device is the
currently active device.
[0103] In some embodiments, remote devices may need to be
registered with the temperature monitoring system as members of the
pool. The devices may be registered as members of a pool through a
web-based interface or other suitable mechanism. Though, in some
embodiments, if requested by a customer, remote devices may already
be preconfigured in device pools before being shipped to a
customer. Other embodiments may require or offer to the customer
the flexibility to configure one or more device pools himself after
having purchased and received the devices. In either scenario, the
temperature monitoring server 106 may need to be made aware in some
fashion of the existence of a device pool, including the knowledge
of which devices may comprise the device pool.
[0104] FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a user interface for
configuring device pools. In some embodiments, the user interface
may be utilized by the manufacturer of the remote devices if the
devices are configured before being shipped to a customer. In other
embodiments, the customer may access the user interface himself. As
in the case of registering devices with the temperature monitoring
server 106, discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, any
suitable means may be employed for the configuration of device
pools, including configuring a device pool over the telephone or
the Internet 100. In the illustrated embodiment of the user
interface, users may configure device pools using a computer
application having access to Internet 100. This may be a locally
installed application that shipped with the remote device or that
was made available to users for this purpose, and which connects
over Internet 100 to one or more computing devices at the central
location. Or it may be a web browser application that connects to a
web server, such as web server 104. Though, regardless of when or
how the user interface illustrated in FIG. 10A is accessed,
information entered through the user interface may be stored for
use by a central server when responding to commands received from
remote devices.
[0105] Focusing on FIG. 10A, a device pool enrolling interface 1000
comprises a window 1002 to add, delete, or edit a device pool.
Window 1002 has a device pool name list 1006, listing the names of
device pools already created to which the user of the interface
1000 has access. In the illustrated embodiment, the user of the
interface has selected one device pool 1008 from device pool name
list 1006. Window 1002 also has add device pool control 1012,
delete device pool control 1014, and edit device pool control 1016.
Each of these controls may be implemented using techniques as known
in the art for implementing a graphical user interface. For
example, each control may be associated with a computer program
component that is invoked when the user indicates the selection of
that control. However, the specific mechanism by which each
graphical user interface is implemented is not critical to the
invention, and any suitable mechanism may be used.
[0106] In the illustrated operating state, the user has selected
the edit device pool control 1016, perhaps by clicking a mouse
connected to a computer displaying interface 1000 on control 1016,
in effect requesting to edit selected device pool 1008.
[0107] This user action displays a window 1004 to add or delete
devices in a device pool, in this case device pool 1008. Window
1004 may comprise a list 1018 of devices in the selected pool,
which may be listed by device ID, as well as another list 1020 of
available devices, which also may be listed by device ID. Though,
any suitable identification mechanism may be used for devices in
the pool or available for inclusion in the pool. For example, in
embodiments in which a user supplies a name for a device in
conjunction with registering the device, interface 100 may display
devices using the provided name.
[0108] The list of available devices may be obtained in any
suitable way. In embodiments in which each user registers multiple
devices, the list of available devices may include all devices
previously registered to that user, for example. Window 1004 may
also comprise an add to device pool control 1026 and a delete from
device pool control 1028. Device 1022 is an example of a device
currently assigned to device pool 1008. Device 1024, which the user
of the interface has selected in this illustration, is an example
of an available device not in any device pool. In the illustrated
embodiment, the user has selected the add to device pool control
1026, perhaps by clicking his mouse on the button 1026, in effect
requesting to add device 1024 to the devices in device pool
1008.
[0109] FIG. 10B illustrates the result of this action. List 1018 of
the devices in the selected pool 1008 now displays device 1024,
along with the devices that were previously in the pool in FIG.
10A. List 1020 of the available devices in the selected pool 1008
now no longer lists device 1024. Accordingly, device 1024 has been
added to device pool 1008.
[0110] FIG. 11 displays an example of swapping the currently active
device in a device pool with another device in the pool. It
illustrates a modification of customer environment 130, which
includes a device pool, from FIG. 1. Referring back to FIG. 1,
devices 146, 148, and 150 are in a device pool, with device 150 as
the current actively monitored device. In this illustration, the
current actively monitored device is stationed in refrigerated food
truck 132, and is used to monitor the ambient temperature of the
section of the truck containing perishable food. Devices 146 and
148 are back-up devices, and are not currently being monitored by
temperature monitoring server 106. The battery in device 148 is
charging from power source 196. Device 146 may be powered off in
order to conserve its battery life. Though, in some instances,
devices that are not the active device may transmit temperature
measurements. In some embodiments, temperature monitoring server
106 may, even if it receives commands from devices 146 and 148,
ignore those commands in determining the temperature at the
specified location for the pool, in this example within
refrigerated food truck 132.
[0111] In FIG. 11, device 150 was removed from the refrigerated
food truck 132, and is currently charging its battery using power
source 196. Thus, device 150 is currently no longer the actively
monitored device; it is now a back-up device. Device 146 has since
been powered on and taken the place of device 150 in the
refrigerated food truck 132, and has become the current actively
monitored device. Device 148, still a back-up device, is now
presumably fully charged and powered off, in order to conserve its
battery life. In some embodiments, the devices are configured to
send a change of power status command to temperature monitoring
server 106. Temperature monitoring server 106 may use such commands
to identify when one device has been replaced by another as the
active device by detecting that its power state has changed.
Though, other mechanisms may be used alternatively or additionally
to identify the active device. For example, a user may input
through a web-based user interface or other suitable mechanism an
indication that the user has changed the currently active device.
However, by automatically recognizing the active device based on
changes in power state of devices within the pool, use of the
system is simplified. In some instances, if a user configures
multiple devices in power states that prevent the server from
identifying the currently active device, the central server may
send an alert to the user, prompting the user to either modify the
state of one or more of the devices or to provide input identifying
the currently active device. Accordingly, any suitable mechanism
may be used to identify a currently active device.
[0112] FIG. 12 illustrates another feature in an embodiment of the
invention, the reprogramming of legacy devices to allow them to
communicate with the temperature monitoring server 106. As was
described in conjunction with FIG. 1, device 140 is a prior art
device, which includes a temperature sensor and a connection to a
client desktop computer 114 through its wired interface 174. Device
140 is not registered with the temperature monitoring system, and
in some embodiments of the invention, it cannot provide data that
will be recognized by the temperature monitoring server 106.
Instead, device 140 sends data through its wired interface to
desktop 114, which has been specially configured with software to
analyze the temperature sensor data and communicate with email
server 118 to send out email alerts if the data exceeds a
threshold, for example.
[0113] In an embodiment of the invention, the firmware on legacy
devices, such as device 140, may be upgraded to a version which
allows the device the possibility of registering with the
temperature monitoring system. This may be done, for example, by
storing a new firmware version in the FLASH memory of the
device.
[0114] FIG. 12 shows the result of reprogramming legacy device 140
with upgraded firmware, and registering the device with the
temperature monitoring system. Reprogrammed device 140 no longer
relies on client desktop computer 114 to analyze the temperature
sensor data and to send alerts through email server 118, as before.
Instead, reprogrammed device 140 now may communicate directly with
the temperature monitoring server 106 over the Internet 100. It
should be noted that the device reprogramming feature in some
embodiments of this invention is not limited to devices with wired
interfaces. Legacy devices with a wireless interface, such as a
cellular interface or a wireless computer interface implementing an
802.11x protocol, may also be reprogrammed to be able to
communicate with the temperature monitoring system.
[0115] FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart for an embodiment of a
command processor, providing further details for step 860 in FIG.
8D that may be performed when pooled devices are supported. As in
the prior discussion, the command processor may be implemented on
the same computing device as the temperature monitoring server 106,
or it may be implemented on one or more separate computing devices.
In an embodiment of the invention corresponding to the execution of
step 1300, a command controller has retrieved the command from the
shared queue 508 and assigned it to a processor. In step 1302, the
controller may parse the command to identify a value indicating the
type of command.
[0116] At step 1304, the process branches depending on whether the
command is p, indicating a change in power state. If it is, control
proceeds to block 1310, in which a command processor for p commands
stores the new power state of the device. While the power state may
be stored in any computer storage medium, in an embodiment of the
invention, the power state is stored in database 108. In step 1312,
the processor checks to see if the device is in a device pool. If
it is not in a pool, the processor may proceed to end block 1322,
as it may have finished processing the command.
[0117] If the processor determines in step 1312 that the device is
in a pool, it may proceed to determine the current actively
monitored device in step 1314. In an embodiment of the invention,
the processor may automatically determine the current actively
monitored device. In some embodiments, all devices in a pool which
are powered on continue to transmit data to the temperature
monitoring server 106. The temperature monitoring server 106 may
receive the data from all powered on devices in a device pool,
regardless of whether they are the current actively monitored
device, and may respond back to all devices in the pool with a time
interval, as the devices would expect. In some embodiments,
however, the temperature monitoring server 106 only processes and
stores temperature data from the current actively monitored device.
This has the advantage of keeping the device circuitry simple,
which usually also correlates to a lower production cost for the
device.
[0118] While the temperature monitoring server 106 may use various
means for determining the current actively monitored device, in
some embodiments, the temperature monitoring server 106 determines
the current actively monitored device based on a change in power
state. In this embodiment, the server treats the device which most
recently switched to battery power as the current actively
monitored device. This calculation by the temperature monitoring
server 106 of the device which most recently switched to battery
power may be made by maintaining on the temperature monitoring
server 106 a time-ordered list of devices in the pool that have
switched to battery power, with the most recent device appearing at
the top of the list, this top device being considered the current
actively monitored device.
[0119] In step 1316, the command processor checks to see if there
is a change in the current actively monitored device. If there is
no change, the control flow may proceed to end block 1322, as the
command processor may be finished processing the command. If the
current actively monitored device has changed, in step 1318, the
command processor may notify the user of the status update
reflecting the new current actively monitored device. The user
notification of the status update may be performed in a variety of
ways, such as a phone call, an SMS message, or an email message. If
the user did not intend to change the current actively monitored
device, notification of the change of current actively monitored
device may prompt the user to take corrective action. That
corrective action may include changing the power states of one or
more of the pooled devices. For example, the user may insure that
only one device is on battery power by removing the batteries from
devices that are not intended to be active or placing them in their
chargers. Though, corrective action may include providing input to
temperature monitoring server 106 through a web-based interface or
using any other suitable mechanism. The control flow may then
proceed to end block 1322.
[0120] Returning to step 1304, if the current command is not p, the
process proceeds to step 1306 where a check is made of whether the
command is t. If it is, in step 1320, a command processor processes
the new temperature reading and possibly computes a new interval
X'. More details of this step may be provided in either FIG. 14 or
FIG. 15, described below. The command processor then may finish
processing the command at end block 1322.
[0121] Returning to step 1306, if the command is not t, a check is
made at step 1308 whether the command is u. If not, the command is
unknown, and the command processor may terminate at end block 1322
without processing the command. If the command is u, a command
processor may effectively execute the combination of the processing
performed for both command p and command t. Processing thus
branches to both step 1310 and step 1320. This processing may be
performed either in parallel, such as by spawning a new process or
a new thread, or sequentially, by first executing the branch
starting at step 1310, and next executing the branch starting a
step 1320, for example. In either case, when processing is done in
both branches, the process may finish at end block 1322.
[0122] The temperature monitoring server 106 may employ a variety
of methods of monitoring temperature sensor data from registered
devices. As has been discussed above, it may perform absolute
temperature monitoring, in which it will check to see that a
temperature reading is within an acceptable range, which may be
configured by a device user during the registration of the device,
in which the range is bounded on one end by a minimal temperature
value, and on the other end by a maximum temperature value.
[0123] Instead of or in addition to absolute temperature
monitoring, in some embodiments of the invention, the temperature
monitoring server 106 may also monitor the rate of temperature
change, and may trigger alerts if the rate of temperature change
has accelerated faster than a normal rate of change calculated by
the temperature monitoring server 106. The temperature monitoring
server may calculate normal rate of change by observing temperature
readings from the device and calculating a moving average rate over
different time periods. In addition to sending alerts if the rate
of temperature change is abnormal, the temperature monitoring
server 106 may also be configured to respond to the remote device
with a shorter reporting interval upon detecting an abnormal rate
of change.
[0124] In some embodiments, the temperature monitoring server 106
may support at least two different types of rate of change
monitoring: manual and self-learning. With manual rate of change
monitoring, a user specifies a time period as well as the maximum
number of degrees of change per the specified time period. With
self-learning rate of change monitoring, the system may adaptively
calculate an acceptable normal rate of change.
[0125] Besides absolute temperature monitoring and temperature rate
of change monitoring, the system may also perform cycle monitoring.
For example, air temperature maintained by an HVAC system has a
pattern based on the cycle time of the HVAC system and on the rate
of temperature change to the environment external to the one
monitored. In some embodiments, the temperature monitoring server
106 may be configured to learn the cyclic patterns of temperature
changes at a monitored location. If this temperature pattern
deviates from the norm, the temperature monitoring server 106 may
trigger an alert.
[0126] In some embodiments of the invention which include one or
more of the monitoring methods described above, the temperature
monitoring server 106 may implement these various monitoring
methods as a number of plug-ins to the system. Software implemented
plug-ins are know in the art and known techniques for implementing
functions within plug-ins may be used to implement and integrate
monitoring methods into temperature monitoring server 106. The
architecture of this embodiment allows the temperature monitoring
server 106 to be easily extended to support other additional
monitoring methods in the future, and also facilitates the enabling
or disabling of each monitoring method through a user interface
provided to users of the devices. Such an architecture allows the
function of temperature monitoring server 106 to be altered without
altering the remote devices.
[0127] FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate two different embodiments of a
variety of methods for monitoring and analyzing temperature sensor
data. Each of FIGS. 14 and 15 could be an implementation of block
1320 in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 illustrates a flow chart for an
implementation of a combination of absolute temperature monitoring
and manual rate of change temperature monitoring. It is to be
appreciated that the functionality illustrated in this flowchart
may be implemented in a variety of ways, including via a number of
software plug-ins to the temperature monitoring server 106, as
described above.
[0128] The process begins at step 1400 when a command processor has
obtained the current temperature reading, T, for a remote location
for which the device has been registered. In step 1402, the command
processor stores T into a computer storage medium associated with
the remote device providing the temperature reading. While any
computer storage medium may be used, in an embodiment of the
invention, T is stored in database 108. In step 1404, T is compared
against the maximum acceptable temperature and the minimum
acceptable temperature registered for the device. If T is not
within the acceptable range, the command processor may alert the
customer in step 1406. Any of a variety of alert mechanisms may be
used, including an email message, an SMS message, and a telephone
call.
[0129] If T is within the acceptable range, the flow moves onto
perform monitoring of the rate of temperature change based on
manually input rate limits. At step 1408, the processor determines
the set of temperature readings that are within the current
monitoring period for the rate of temperature change. The
monitoring period may include a number of temperature readings, and
therefore, may encompass a number of monitoring intervals. In step
1410, the processor computes a delta relative to each reading in
the monitoring period. In step 1412, the processor may check to see
if the computed delta exceeds a threshold rate of change. The
threshold rate of change may have been specified by the user during
registration of the device. If the computed delta does not exceed
the threshold, at step 1414, the processor sets the current
monitoring interval to its standard, default value. On the other
hand, if, at step 1412, the command processor determines that the
computed delta exceeds the threshold rate of temperature change,
the processor recalculates the monitoring interval. The new
monitoring interval may be decreased, allowing for more frequent
reporting. In one embodiment, the new reporting interval is the
result of dividing the current monitoring interval by 5, and in
which the minimum value of the new reporting interval is 1. The
processor then alerts the customer in step 1406, using any of the
alerting mechanisms discussed above.
[0130] FIG. 15 illustrates another embodiment of a variety of
methods for monitoring and analyzing temperature sensor data. FIG.
15 could provide more details for block 1320 in FIG. 13. FIG. 15
illustrates a flow chart for an implementation of a combination of
absolute temperature monitoring, self-learning rate of change
temperature monitoring, and cycle monitoring. As was discussed in
conjunction with FIG. 14 above, it is to be appreciated that the
functionality illustrated in this flowchart may be implemented in a
variety of ways, including via a number of software plug-ins to the
temperature monitoring server 106, as described above.
[0131] At step 1500, a command processor has obtained the current
temperature reading, T. The command processor, in step 1502, stores
T on a computer storage medium. While any computer storage medium
may be used, in an embodiment of the invention, the command
processor stores T in database 108. As discussed in conjunction
with FIG. 14, the processor then checks in step 1504 to make sure T
is within an acceptable range, being no warmer than a maximum
temperature, and no cooler than a minimum temperature. If T falls
outside the acceptable range, the processor alerts the customer in
step 1506, using any of a number of communication methods,
including email and SMS messages, and telephone calls.
[0132] If T does not fall outside the acceptable range, the
processor proceeds to the self-learning rate of change monitoring.
In step 1510, the processor may calculate the mean and the standard
deviation of the last Y temperature readings, where Y may be
calculated as the number of reporting intervals per hour, with a
minimum value of four. The value of Y may be input by a user, such
as during a registration process, or obtained in any other suitable
way. In step 1512, the processor may check to see if the absolute
value of the difference between the current temperature reading T
and the mean is greater than a multiple of the standard deviation.
In the illustrated embodiment, the multiple is three. If the
absolute value of the difference between T and the mean is greater
than three times the standard deviation, the processor may
calculate a new monitoring interval in step 1514. While a variety
of calculations could be employed, in the illustrated embodiment,
the new monitoring interval is set to the result of dividing the
current monitoring interval by five, and in which the minimum value
of the new monitoring interval is one. The processor then alerts
the customer in step 1506, as discussed above.
[0133] Otherwise, the processor proceeds to the cycle-monitoring.
In step 1516, the processor may compare the current data to a
cyclic pattern corresponding to an ARMA model of the HVAC system
based on the rate of temperature change and the cycle time of the
HVAC system. Though, any suitable mechanism for representing cyclic
variations may be employed. In step 1518, the processor may check
to see if the cycle pattern is normal. Any suitable mechanism may
be used for comparing a measured temperature pattern to a model
representing a normal temperature pattern. For example, the
frequency of cycles between maximum and minimum values may be
compared. Alternatively or additionally, the amplitude between
maximum and minimum temperature values may be compared. Though, any
suitable comparison mechanism may be used. Regardless of how the
comparison is made, if the comparison indicates that the measured
temperature pattern is not normal, the processor alerts the
customer in step 1506, as discussed above. Otherwise, in step 1520,
the processor sets the current monitoring interval to the standard
value, and updates the cycle pattern in step 1522 based on the
latest temperature data. This last step may involve storing the
updated cycle pattern on computer storage media. In one embodiment
of the invention, the processor stores the updated cycle pattern in
database 108. The flow proceeds to end block 1524, indicating that
the processor has finished analyzing the latest temperature
reading.
[0134] Having thus described several aspects of at least one
embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated that various
alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to
those skilled in the art.
[0135] For example, the invention was illustrated using a
temperature monitoring system as an example. Techniques described
herein may be employed in systems that monitor environmental
parameters instead of or in addition to temperature.
[0136] Also, it is described that a sensor and transceiver are
packaged together as a remote unit. While such packaging may
provide a simple mechanism to deploy temperature monitoring, it is
not required. In some embodiments, a transceiver and controller may
be packaged with an interface to a sensor. The remote unit may then
be assembled by connecting a sensor to the transceiver.
[0137] Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are
intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be
within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the
foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.
[0138] The above-described embodiments of the present invention can
be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the
embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a
combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software
code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of
processors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed
among multiple computers.
[0139] Further, it should be appreciated that a computer may be
embodied in any of a number of forms, such as a rack-mounted
computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a tablet
computer. Additionally, a computer may be embedded in a device not
generally regarded as a computer but with suitable processing
capabilities, including a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart
phone or any other suitable portable or fixed electronic
device.
[0140] Also, a computer may have one or more input and output
devices. These devices can be used, among other things, to present
a user interface. Examples of output devices that can be used to
provide a user interface include printers or display screens for
visual presentation of output and speakers or other sound
generating devices for audible presentation of output. Examples of
input devices that can be used for a user interface include
keyboards, and pointing devices, such as mice, touch pads, and
digitizing tablets. As another example, a computer may receive
input information through speech recognition or in other audible
format.
[0141] Such computers may be interconnected by one or more networks
in any suitable form, including as a local area network or a wide
area network, such as an enterprise network or the Internet. Such
networks may be based on any suitable technology and may operate
according to any suitable protocol and may include wireless
networks, wired networks or fiber optic networks.
[0142] Also, the various methods or processes outlined herein may
be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors
that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms.
Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of
suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting
tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code
or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual
machine.
[0143] In this respect, the invention may be embodied as a computer
readable medium (or multiple computer readable media) (e.g., a
computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical
discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in
Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or
other tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more
programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other
processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments
of the invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or
media can be transportable, such that the program or programs
stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers
or other processors to implement various aspects of the present
invention as discussed above.
[0144] The terms "program" or "software" are used herein in a
generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of
computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a
computer or other processor to implement various aspects of the
present invention as discussed above. Additionally, it should be
appreciated that according to one aspect of this embodiment, one or
more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the
present invention need not reside on a single computer or
processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a
number of different computers or processors to implement various
aspects of the present invention.
[0145] Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such
as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other
devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,
objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular
tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the
functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed
as desired in various embodiments.
[0146] Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable
media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data
structures may be shown to have fields that are related through
location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be
achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a
computer-readable medium that conveys relationship between the
fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a
relationship between information in fields of a data structure,
including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms
that establish relationship between data elements.
[0147] Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone,
in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically
discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is
therefore not limited in its application to the details and
arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or
illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one
embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in
other embodiments.
[0148] Also, the invention may be embodied as a method, of which an
example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method
may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be
constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than
illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously,
even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative
embodiments.
[0149] Use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third,"
etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself
connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element
over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are
performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim
element having a certain name from another element having a same
name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim
elements.
[0150] Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The
use of "including," "comprising," or "having," "containing,"
"involving," and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass
the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as
additional items.
* * * * *