A gateway-free whole-house smart control method and system based on a decentralized mesh network

Abstract

This invention discloses a gatewayless whole-house smart control method and system based on a decentralized mesh network, belonging to the field of smart home control technology. The system consists of multiple smart devices, including a main control unit, a mesh communication unit, a sensing unit, an execution unit, peripheral interfaces, a power management unit, and a protocol conversion module. Each device self-organizes a network via the mesh protocol, with lighting fixtures acting as natural relay nodes to extend network coverage, eliminating the need for an external gateway or cloud platform. The control method includes automatic mesh networking upon device power-on, local autonomous logic judgment, execution control, and status synchronization. Simultaneously, the protocol conversion module enables interconnection and interoperability of devices using multiple protocols such as StarMesh, Bluetooth Mesh, WiFi Mesh, and Zigbee, ensuring full functionality even in offline conditions. This invention completely eliminates the risk of single-point failure, achieving full protocol compatibility and local autonomous operation, offering advantages such as high reliability, low cost, and wide coverage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of smart home control technology, specifically to a gatewayless whole-house smart control method and system based on a decentralized Mesh network. Background Technology

[0002] Existing smart home systems generally rely on external gateways or cloud platforms for networking and control, which has the following core drawbacks: Single point of failure risk: If the gateway or cloud platform goes offline, fails, or is attacked, the entire system will be paralyzed and unable to operate independently locally.

[0003] Significant protocol barriers exist: devices from different brands and using different protocols (such as StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, Wi-Fi Mesh, Zigbee, etc.) are difficult to interconnect, requiring users to purchase more gateways or bridging devices, resulting in high costs and poor user experience.

[0004] Limited network coverage: Traditional IoT uses Mesh network protocol gateways as core nodes, and the coverage is limited by the location of the gateway. Expanding coverage requires additional relay devices, which is costly and complex.

[0005] Privacy and security risks: Data is uploaded to the cloud for processing, which poses risks of data leakage, third-party monitoring or tampering, and core functions will be disabled after the network is disconnected.

[0006] For example, the existing patent CN202110875433.9 discloses a gateway-based smart home control system, which manages devices through an external gateway. However, it suffers from problems such as network outage failure and protocol incompatibility. Even if the improved Mesh network communication technology in the prior art is adopted, the system still depends on the gateway or cloud platform to operate, which cannot meet users' needs for highly reliable, fully compatible and independent smart home control.

[0007] This invention provides a gateway-free whole-house smart control method and system based on a decentralized Mesh network, aiming to solve problems such as reliance on gateways / cloud platforms, protocol incompatibility, limited coverage, and failure due to network outages in existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The core technical solution of this invention is as follows: System Architecture: Composed of multiple intelligent devices, including a main control unit, Mesh communication unit, execution unit, peripheral interface, power management unit, and protocol conversion module. Each device self-organizes via the Mesh protocol, with the lighting fixtures acting as natural relay nodes to extend network coverage, eliminating the need for a gateway or cloud platform.

[0009] Control method: After the device is powered on, it automatically completes the Mesh networking, with the lights acting as relays to extend the coverage; the device has a built-in local autonomous algorithm that can autonomously perform control functions such as switching, dimming, and scene linkage based on sensor data, time rules, ambient light, and other conditions; at the same time, it can achieve interconnection and interoperability of multiple protocol devices such as StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, Wi-Fi Mesh, and Zigbee through a protocol conversion module, and all functions can operate normally in the absence of network. Beneficial effects

[0010] A gateway-free, decentralized architecture completely eliminates single points of failure; It is compatible with mainstream Mesh protocols such as StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, Wi-Fi Mesh, and Zigbee, and can directly link with devices from different brands and with different protocols; Lighting fixtures, as natural relays, offer wider coverage and lower deployment costs; The local autonomous algorithm can still run stably even when offline or without internet access. The core technical solution of this invention can be widely applied to various gateway-free Mesh whole-house smart control scenarios, and its protection scope is subject to the claims. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is a structural block diagram of the system described in this invention; Figure 2 This is a flowchart of the control method described in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the multi-protocol interoperability described in this invention.

[0012] In the picture: 100-Smart Devices 101-Main Control Unit 102-Mesh Communication Unit 103-Sensing Unit 104-Execution Unit 105-Peripheral Interface 106-Power Management Unit 107-Protocol Conversion Module 200-NearLink Protocol Module 201-Bluetooth Protocol Module 202-Wi-Fi Protocol Module (Wi-Fi) 203 - Zigbee Protocol Module (Zigbee) Detailed Implementation

[0013] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0014] I. System Structure (corresponding) Figure 1 ) This embodiment of the gatewayless whole-house smart control system includes multiple smart devices (100), each smart device comprising: Main control unit: As the core processor of the device, it is responsible for executing local autonomous algorithms and protocol conversion logic.

[0015] Mesh communication unit: Supports protocols such as StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, and Wi-Fi Mesh, enabling decentralized mesh network data transmission between devices. It should be noted that the mesh networking of this invention is not limited to the AODV routing algorithm; any routing algorithm capable of achieving a decentralized peer-to-peer network is applicable.

[0016] Sensing unit: includes human infrared sensor, photosensitive sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, etc., used to collect environmental data.

[0017] Execution unit: including LED driver module, relay module, etc., used to control the switching, dimming and scene linkage of lamps.

[0018] Peripheral interface: Used to connect peripherals such as sensors and actuators, supporting plug and play.

[0019] Power Management Unit: Responsible for the power management of the device, supporting low-power operation and battery power.

[0020] Protocol Conversion Module: Features built-in protocol parsing and conversion algorithms, enabling data interoperability between protocols such as StarFlash, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee. The unified data format is a 16-byte frame structure, including: Device ID (4 bytes), Command Type (2 bytes), Parameter Value (8 bytes), and Checksum (2 bytes).

[0021] This embodiment of the Mesh networking uses the AODV routing algorithm. After powering on, the device actively broadcasts a Hello frame to discover surrounding devices. Based on signal strength and hop count, it selects the optimal parent node and automatically forms a decentralized peer-to-peer network. Devices communicate and network with each other via CSMA / CA mechanisms. Light fixtures act as natural relay nodes, automatically extending network coverage without the need for additional relay devices.

[0022] II. Control methods (corresponding) Figure 2 ) The control method in this embodiment includes the following steps: Device power-on: After the smart device is powered on, it initializes each module.

[0023] Automatic Mesh Networking: Mesh communication units actively broadcast beacons to automatically discover and establish communication between nodes. Lighting fixtures act as relay nodes to automatically extend network coverage.

[0024] Local autonomous logic judgment: The sensing unit collects data such as human body detection, time, and ambient light. The main control unit makes judgments based on preset rules, with the priority being: human body detection > time rule > ambient light threshold; when multiple rules are triggered simultaneously, the control command corresponding to human body detection is executed first. If a human body is detected, the lights will be turned on and adjusted to the preset brightness. If the preset time is reached, the scene linkage will be executed (such as "Home Mode" or "Sleep Mode"). If the ambient light is below the threshold, auxiliary lighting will be automatically turned on.

[0025] The human body sensing distance in this embodiment can be configured via an external interface. The default setting is to trigger the lights to turn on when a human body moves to a distance of 3 meters. If the system is in "Homecoming Mode" or "Sleep Mode" at night and there is no human activity, scene linkage will be executed. This product can also be adjusted according to user needs; the default setting is to automatically turn on auxiliary lighting when the ambient light is below 500 lux. It should be emphasized that the above parameters are merely illustrative examples, and users can adjust them arbitrarily according to actual application scenarios. The scope of protection of this invention is not limited by these specific values.

[0026] Execution control: The main control unit generates control commands, which are then used by the execution unit to control the lights to switch on / off, dim them, or link scenes.

[0027] Status synchronization: Devices synchronize status information through the Mesh network, and the protocol conversion module enables interconnection and interoperability of devices with multiple protocols, ensuring that the status of the entire system is consistent.

[0028] III. Multi-protocol interoperability (corresponding to) Figure 3 ) The protocol conversion module in this embodiment supports NearLink, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee protocols, and is implemented as follows: After the StarScan protocol data is received through the Mesh communication unit, it is parsed into a unified data format by the protocol conversion module; The data is formatted in a unified way and then converted into Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Zigbee protocol data according to the target device's protocol type, and then sent through the corresponding communication module. Conversely, other protocol data can also be converted into StarFlash protocol data through the protocol conversion module, realizing bidirectional data interoperability between the StarFlash, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee protocols.

[0029] The entire system requires no external gateway or cloud platform and can still operate fully via local autonomous algorithms even when the network is offline, ensuring high reliability and security.

Claims

1. A gateway-free whole-house smart control method based on a decentralized mesh network, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Multiple smart devices self-organize a decentralized peer-to-peer Mesh network through Mesh communication units, with lighting fixtures acting as relay nodes to extend network coverage; The main control unit of each smart device executes local autonomous logic based on local sensor data, time thresholds, and ambient light conditions; It enables interconnection and interoperability between devices using protocols such as StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, WiFi Mesh, and Zigbee through a built-in protocol conversion module; The system can operate independently with full functionality even when offline without external cloud or cloud platform support.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Mesh communication unit supports the NearLink protocol, enabling high-speed, low-latency inter-device communication.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The local autonomous logic can be divided into three modes based on the detected human body sensing status: constant light, human body sensing, and ambient light adjustment.

4. A gateway-free whole-house smart control system based on a decentralized mesh network, characterized in that, Includes multiple smart devices, each containing: The main control unit is used to execute local autonomous logic; Mesh communication unit, used for self-organizing decentralized mesh networks; The sensing unit is used to collect data such as human body and ambient light; The execution unit is used to implement controls such as dimming and switching. Protocol conversion module, used to enable interoperability between multiple protocols; The system does not rely on external cloud or cloud platform support and can operate independently with full functionality even when the network is offline.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The Mesh network uses the NearLink protocol to achieve high-speed, low-latency communication between devices.

6. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The sensing unit includes a human presence sensor and an ambient light sensor, which are used to trigger local autonomous logic.

7. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The execution unit includes a dimming module, a switch module, and a curtain control module, supporting brightness adjustment from 0-100% and color temperature adjustment from 2700K-6500K.

8. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The protocol conversion module enables bidirectional data conversion between StarFlash Mesh, Bluetooth Mesh, WiFi Mesh, and Zigbee, and supports cross-protocol device linkage.

Images