Communications: electrical – Continuously variable indicating – With meter reading
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-19
2001-08-14
Horabik, Michael (Department: 2635)
Communications: electrical
Continuously variable indicating
With meter reading
C340S870030, C340S870030, C340S870030, C370S335000, C370S342000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06275166
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to environmental control and monitoring of buildings, and more particularly to systems for controlling and monitoring heating, air conditioning, lighting, security, occupancy, and usage of distributed facilities such as hotels and the like.
The control of distributed systems such as building systems has been undertaken in connection with commonly used computer networks and business software. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,078 to Games et al. A major difficulty with such systems is the expense of wiring interconnections between elements of the system, particularly when there are additions or changes to be made in the system. The expense of these interconnections can be reduced somewhat by the use of efficient network protocols, such as the widely known Ethernet standard that has a range of up to 1000 meters. Another recent development is the use of AC power wiring to transmit RF communications to remote controllers, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,299 to Kabat et al. A further development is control using a combination of wired and wireless communications as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,440,301 to Evans and 5,476,221 to Seymour.
Unfortunately, centralized wireless control systems for building appliances have not been widely utilized, largely because systems having sufficient range normally are subject to regulations and licensing requirements that are prohibitively expensive. Also, systems that are sufficiently powerful to be used in widely distributed installations are unnecessarily expensive in smaller installations. Further, there is limited availability of RF carrier frequencies, and potential interference with other nearby systems that might be operational.
Thus there is a need for a wireless appliance control system that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior
SUMMARY
The present invention meets this need by providing a wireless configuration that uses a distributed array of low power (short range) wireless controllers that are also functional as relay units for communicating with a headend control computer at long range. In one aspect of the invention, an appliance controller is provided for a distributed appliance system having a headend computer, a multiplicity of appliances, and a plurality of relay units, one of the relay units being the appliance controller. The appliance controller includes a low power satellite radio transceiver having a range being less than a distance to at least some of the appliances; an appliance interface for communicating with the at least one local appliance; a microcomputer connected between the satellite radio transceiver and the appliance interface and having first program instructions for controlling the satellite transceiver and second program instructions for directing communication between the satellite transceiver and the appliance interface. The first program instructions include detecting communications directed by the headend computer relative to the same appliance controller, signaling receipt of the directed communications, and directing communications to the headend computer relative to the same appliance controller. The second program instructions include detecting relay communications directed between the headend computer and a different relay unit, transmitting the relay communications, detecting a reply communication from the different relay unit, and transmitting the reply communication to the headend computer, wherein at least some of the relay units communicate with the headend computer by relay communications using at least two others of the relay units.
Preferably each of the relay units has a unique address, each communication from the headend computer to the appliance controller including an address code corresponding to the unique address being selectively a relay address for communications being relayed to other relay units, the address code being a destination address when the appliance controller is the destination of the communication, the appliance controller including means for decoding the address code. Thus any distribution of relay units having the unique addresses can be accessed from the headend computer, as long as there is a communication path to each appliance controller that does not have a segment larger than an effective range of the transceivers. Each of the transceivers can have an effective range to another of the relay units being not less than 50 feet and not more than 1 mile. The satellite radio transceiver can have a carrier frequency of between 66 KHz and 2.6 GHz . The carrier frequency can be selectively one of at least four frequencies.
In another aspect of the invention, a system for controlling a distributed array of appliances includes the headend computer having a low power main radio transceiver interfaced thereto, the main radio transceiver having a range being less than a distance to at least some of the appliances; and a distributed array of relay units, each relay unit including a low power satellite radio transceiver having a range being less than the distance to at least some of the appliances; a microcomputer connected to the satellite radio transceiver and relay program instructions for controlling the satellite transceiver; the relay program instructions including first instructions for detecting communications directed by the headend computer relative to the same relay unit and directing communications to the headend computer relative to the same relay unit, and second instructions for retransmitting communications to other relay units. At least some of the relay units are appliance controllers, each of the appliance controllers being located proximate at least one of the appliances and further including an appliance interface for communicating with the at least one appliance. The microcomputer is also connected to the appliance interface and having destination program instructions for directing communication between the satellite transceiver and the appliance interface, wherein at least some of the appliance controllers communicate with the headend computer by relay communications using at least two others of the relay units.
Preferably each of the relay units has the unique address, the means for detecting the unique address in received communications, each communication from the headend computer to an appliance controller including the destination address and selectively one or more of the relay addresses. Each of the transceivers can have an effective range of not less than 50 feet and not more than 1 mile to another of the transceivers.
Each of the transceivers can operate at a frequency of between 900 MHz and 1.0 GHz, having an effective range of not less than 50 feet and not greater than approximately 1000 feet. Each of the transceivers can operate at a frequency of between 2.4 GHz and 2.6 GHz, having an effective range of not less than 1,000 feet and not greater than approximately 1 mile. Each of the transceivers operates at a power not greater than 100 milliwatts. The satellite radio transceiver can have a carrier frequency of between 66 KHz and 2.6 GHz. The carrier frequency can be selectively one of at least four frequencies.
In a further aspect of the invention, a method for controlling a distributed array of appliances from a headend computer includes the steps of:
(a) providing a headend computer having a main radio transceiver;
(b) providing a distributed array of relay units, each relay unit having a satellite radio transceiver and a unique serial number, at least some of the relay units being electrically interfaced to a corresponding portion of the appliances;
(c) signaling by the main transmitter from the headend computer the addresses of at least three relay units, one of the addresses being a destination address, the other addresses including first and second relay addresses, and a control signal for an appliance being interfaced to a destination relay unit having a serial number corresponding to the destination address;
(d) decoding the first relay address at a first relay unit
del Castillo Byron
Ginsburg Diane L.
Parsons Steven R.
Rosen Robert C.
Architron Systems, Inc.
Bangachon William L
Horabik Michael
Sheldon & Mak
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