WO2002093526A1

WO2002093526A1 - Monitoring and communication apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2002093526A1
Application number: PCT/SG2001/000091
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colin Chan; Khai Pang Tan
Original assignee: Addvalue Technologies Ltd
Current assignee: Addvalue Technologies Ltd
Priority date: 2001-05-15
Filing date: 2001-05-15
Publication date: 2002-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 2003-11-15

Abstract

A monitoring and communication apparatus to encourage the installation of a wireless public utility monitoring sensor in the premises of the public utility user is disclosed which includes a sensor (40) arranged to communicate over a wireless link with the communication device (10) connectable to a communication network (60) to send information sensed by the sensor to remote location. The communication device (10) has an additional communication function unrelated to the sensor (40) and in a preferred embodiment is in the form of a cordless telephone base station which can additionally communicate with a portable telephone handset (20) separately usable for communication by the public utility user.

Description

MONITORING AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

Field and Background of the Invention

This invention relates to monitoring and communication apparatus more particularly but not exclusively for use in monitoring a public utility supply in a domestic setting.

In the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) business it is usual for LPG suppliers to supply homes either with bottled gas or by recharging an in-situ gas cylinder at the home location. The efficiency of the LPG distribution and refueling service is critical to the success of such a business. The high cost per mile for running service trucks can far exceed the cost of fuel and unnecessary trips and inefficient routes eat away at profits and capital investment. When gas supply becomes low, the user can telephone the LPG supplier to ask for refueling. However, a preferable system is for a wireless tank/bottle monitoring sensor that transmits information on tank fuel level to a communication device which relays this information to a central office for refuel planning via a telephone line. The communication device is typically located in the home. There have been problems with consumer acceptability of this system, principally since the communication device is considered unappealing and more a burden to the consumer than a benefit and is usually hidden away in some unseen place in the home. It is an object of the invention to provide monitoring and communication apparatus which alleviates this problem.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention in the first aspect, there is provided monitoring and communication apparatus comprising a sensor for monitoring an utility supply, the sensor being arranged to communicate over a wireless link with a communication device connectable to a communication network to send information sensed by the sensor to a remote location and wherein the communication device has an additional communication function unrelated to the sensor.

Preferably, the communication device additionally functions as a telephone and most preferably as a cordless telephone base station, the apparatus further being provided with a cordless telephone handset arranged to communicate with the base station.

In another form, the communication device may additionally function as a modem which may form part of a personal computer or as a telephone answering machine.

In the described embodiment, the monitoring and communication apparatus is packaged with a cordless telephone. The base station of the cordless telephone communicates not just with the cordless telephone handset but also with an LPG gas tank level sensor. Since the communication device of the sensor is packaged as part of a cordless telephone base station, it is unobtrusive and provides added value to the home owner due to its additional functionality as a telephone. Furthermore, since the cordless telephone handset and the sensor share the same communication channel and processing circuitry, the additional telephony function can be added relatively inexpensively.

According to the invention is the second aspect, there is provided a method of encouraging installation of a wireless public utility monitoring sensor in the premises of a public utility user comprising providing a communication device for the sensor having a communication function by the user which is unrelated to the sensor, the device being connectable to a communication network and operable to send information from the sensor to a remote location via the network.

Preferably, the communication function is that of a telephone, most preferably a cordless telephone with the receiver being incorporated into the cordless telephone base station and with a separate cordless handset being provided for communication by the user. In the alternative, the communication device may include a modem or telephone answering machine separately usable for communication by the user.

Preferably, the communication device is offered to the user without specific charge. Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the console unit of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a data transmitter of the embodiment of Fig. 2; and

Figure 4 illustrates a data package transmitted from a transmitter of Fig. 1 to the console of Fig. 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

An embodiment of monitoring and communication apparatus of the invention is generally shown in Fig. 1. The apparatus is based on the functionality of a cordless telephone, preferably a digital cordless telephone having a console unit/base station 10 which can communicate with a plurality, in this case two, portable cordless telephone handsets 20, 30. In addition to the handsets, data transmitters 40, 50 are further provided for communication with the console unit 10. The handsets and transmitters are together termed remote units hereinafter. The console unit 10 is connected to a communications network 60 which can be of any form, for example an analog telephone line, ISDN line, cable network, LAN or WAN.

A more detailed schematic view of the console unit 10 is shown in Fig. 2. The unit 10 has a regulated power supply 100 which receives power from an AC main supply and provides regulated DC power supply to the electronic circuits of the unit 10. A connection to the network 60 is made via a network interface 110 which provides a hardware and software interface to the network making the network transparent to the application software of the unit 10. The interface 110 is connected to a telephone function module 120 which sets up and releases the connection to the network and performs information transfer.

The telephone function module 120 is further connected to a communication module 130 which is connected to a transceiver unit 140 which is in turn connected to an aerial 150. The communication module 130 is responsible for information communication through the transceiver unit 140 to set up a link between the console unit 10 and the remote units 20 - 50. The module 130 handles mostly the physical functions of the wireless protocol chosen for the information communication. The module further communicates with the telephony function module 120 to exchange information.

The transceiver unit 140 consists of a transmitter to transmit information to the remote units 20 - 50 and a receiver to receive information from them. The transceiver (and associated remote unit transceiver) can use any main wireless technology (eg. Bluetooth radio, proprietory 2.4 GHz radio, DECT, GSM, 802.11 , infra-red or a proprietary TDMA/FDMA system at any radio frequency band).

The telephone function modules 120, 130 and unit 140 are under control of a micro-controller unit 160 which is further connected to a memory module 170 which contains program memory (in the form of ROM/EPROM/Flash ROM) containing the software code for executing all the functions of the unit 10 and data memory (RAM/Flash) for storing data used by the unit 160 during execution. The unit 130 executes a communication protocol stack used to achieve intended communication and sends commands to the remote units 20 - 50 and receives responses therefrom. The unit 130 also receives commands from the remote units 20 - 50, takes necessary action and responds to the units. Optional interface devices in the form of a display 180 and a keypad 190 accessed via an interface module 195 may further be provided.

All the components of the console unit 10 may be provided in a cordless telephone base station with the handsets 20, 30 communicating with the base station 10 in the manner known in the art.

The sensors/transmitters 40, 50 have similar communication functionality to the handsets and include a transducer 210 connected to a public utility device 200 (such as an LPG cylinder) and to a data converter 220 which is also connected to a main control unit (MCU) 230, and a base band processor 240 which is in turn connected to an RF transceiver 250 and aerial 260 or communication with the console unit 10..

In use, the transducer 210 monitors a state of the utility device, for example, for a LPG cylinder, by sensing if LPG in the cylinder falls below a certain level. When this occurs, the transducer is triggered to send an alarm signal to the data converter 220 which converts the signal to an appropriate digital format for interfacing with the main control unit 230. A data frame structure is then created by the main control unit 230 as shown in Fig. 4 containing a preamble portion 300, a device ID and channel information portion 310, a payload portion 320, (containing the transducer data), and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) portion 330. The data frame is then formatted to a suitable base band signal according to a modulation scheme and transmission mode by the base band processor 240. The RF transceiver then converts the base band signal from the base band processor 240 into a suitable RF signal for wireless transmission via aerial 260 to the console unit 10.

The console unit 10 receives the RF signal from the remote sensor and converts the signal so that the contents of the data frame may be read. The main control unit 160 then checks the CRC to ensure that the data is not corrupted. If the data is corrupted, the console unit requests the remote sensor to retransmit and the console unit 10 will return to a standby mode. If the CRC is good, the console unit will send a "receive" message to the remote sensor. If the sensor receives a request for retransmission or does not receive the "data received" message within a timeout period, the sensor will retransmit the message. If the data is good, the main control unit 160 decodes and interprets the payload data 230 and then produces an appropriate message for communicating with the remote location, for example for indicating that the LPG cylinder requires replenishment. This message is then output to the telephone function module 120 for communication with the remote location via the network interface 110.

Any suitable scheme may be used to avoid interference and conflict between network, console unit 10 and the remote units 20 - 50. For example, in a TDMA communication scheme between the console unit and remote units, the console unit will transmit a dummy bearer so that all remote units are time synchronised to it. The transmission frame is divided into a number of time slots for transmission or reception and the remote units may look for a clear time slot or carrier in the previous time frame before transmission or each remote unit may have one or more pre-assigned time slots for transmission/reception. If two remote units try to transmit in the same time slot, then the console unit 10 will not acknowledge so that the timeout will be implemented for the remote unit(s) to do a retransmission.

The above described embodiment is not to be construed as limitative. For example, although the communication device for the transmitters 40, 50, has been packaged with a cordless telephone base station 10, this may be packaged with an ordinary telephone or with other communication devices such as a modem, which may form part of a personal computer of a user, or a peripheral device such as a telephone answering machine connectable directly or indirectly to a communications network.

Furthermore, although in the described embodiment, the console unit would generally be connected to a subscriber's telephone line, this is not to be construed as limitative and the communication device may be connected to any communications network.

The invention is also applicable for use with other utilities, for example monitoring electricity, water or gas usage or monitoring the health of related equipment, such as supply valves or circuitry.

Claims

1. A monitoring and communication apparatus comprising a sensor for monitoring a utility supply, the sensor being arranged to communicate over a wireless link with a communication device connectable to a communication network to send information sensed by the sensor to a remote location and wherein the communication device has an additional communication function unrelated to the sensor.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communication device additionally functions as a telephone.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communication device additionally functions as a cordless telephone base station and further comprising a cordless telephone arranged to communicate with the base station.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communication device additionally functions as a computer modem.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the modem forms part of a personal computer.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the communication device has the

additional function of a telephone answering machine.

7. A method of encouraging installation of a wireless public utility monitoring sensor in the premises of a public utility user comprising providing a communication device for the sensor having a communication function by the user which is unrelated to the sensor, the device being connectable to a communication network and operable to send information from the sensor to a remote location via the network.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the communication function is that of a telephone, cordless telephone, computer modem or telephone answering machine.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the communication device is offered to the user without specific charge.