Intelligent wireless sensor gateway

Abstract

The utility model discloses intelligent wireless sensor gateway, including main control processor module, wireless communication module, network communication module, storage module, power module, background management module and security encryption module. Main control processor adopts embedded microcontroller, and the real -time operating system is run, is responsible for the coordination sensor access, data processing and communication management. Wireless communication module is based on zigBee protocol constructs star type network, and supports maximum 32 wireless temperature and vibration sensor nodes access and automatic discovery. Network communication module includes ethernet interface and 4G cellular module, and can realize double network concurrent and automatic hot backup switching. Background management module provides sensor configuration, state viewing and remote OTA upgrade etc. functions through built -in web service, and the user can carry out management operation through the browser. Data transmission adopts standardization Json agreement, and supports TLS encryption, ensures transmission security. The gateway is applicable to the sensor data acquisition and remote monitoring application of industrial field.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to an intelligent wireless sensor gateway and belongs to the field of wireless sensor gateways. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless sensor gateways are key hubs between the sensing and network layers of the Internet of Things (IoT), responsible for aggregating sensor data, protocol conversion, edge computing, and cloud communication. They are currently mainly used in smart homes, industrial IoT, smart cities, and environmental monitoring.

[0003] Gateways need to support multiple protocols, generally requiring compatibility with communication protocols such as Zigbee, LoRa, BLE, and Wi-Fi, but protocol fragmentation is severe; some high-end gateways support edge computing for lightweight data analysis (such as filtering and anomaly detection); and integrate with cloud platforms to connect to public platforms such as AWS IoT and Alibaba Cloud or user private platforms via MQTT / HTTP.

[0004] Its existing technology still has shortcomings and deficiencies, including:

[0005] 1. Protocol fragmentation: Sensor / gateway protocols from different manufacturers are not interoperable. Even when using the same Zigbee communication, their upper-layer data protocols are still different and cannot communicate with each other.

[0006] 2. Limited computing and storage capabilities, insufficient edge computing power, most gateways only support data forwarding and are difficult to run complex algorithms; there are storage bottlenecks, local cache capacity is small, and data is easily lost when the network is interrupted.

[0007] 3. Significant security risks: As a critical node, the gateway is vulnerable to DDoS attacks, firmware vulnerabilities (such as unencrypted OTA), or man-in-the-middle attacks; some low-end gateways do not enable TLS / DTLS encryption, and sensitive data (such as industrial data) may be stolen.

[0008] 4. Network stability defects: Relying on the Internet, the gateway may lose its function when the connection to the cloud is lost (such as remote control failure); wireless interference: Wi-Fi / Zigbee is susceptible to signal attenuation or electromagnetic interference in complex environments.

[0009] 5. Scalability and management challenges: There is a limitation on the number of nodes, with low-end gateways only supporting a few dozen devices; firmware upgrades and troubleshooting require on-site operations, increasing labor costs.

[0010] 6. High cost and deployment threshold: Hardware costs are high, gateways supporting 5G / edge AI are expensive, gateways generally use Linux operating systems, which have poor real-time performance and stability, and troubleshooting is complex and difficult to handle; configuration is complex and requires professional network knowledge (such as VPN configuration and security policies), which is not user-friendly for ordinary users. Utility Model Content

[0011] The purpose of this invention is to provide an intelligent wireless sensor gateway that can effectively solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0012] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0013] It includes a main control processor module, which runs an embedded real-time operating system and manages sensor data acquisition, communication protocol processing, and system control logic;

[0014] The ZigBee communication module communicates with the main control processor module to establish a star-shaped wireless communication network, supporting the access of up to 32 wireless temperature and vibration sensors.

[0015] The network communication module includes an Ethernet interface and a 4G cellular mobile communication interface, which is used to upload sensor data to the user server and supports dual-network concurrent communication and automatic hot standby switching.

[0016] The storage module includes SDRAM and SPI Flash, used for data caching and firmware storage, respectively;

[0017] The management backend module runs on the main control processor module based on a web interface, allowing users to access the gateway through a browser for remote configuration, maintenance, and firmware push.

[0018] The power module takes an industrial 24V input and provides 3.3V and 5V power outputs for use by various circuit modules.

[0019] Furthermore: the main control processor module is an STM32F429ZGT6 microcontroller. The main control module is connected to SDRAM through the FMC interface, connected to the Flash chip through the SPI interface, and has reserved USART and SPI interfaces for expanding the wireless communication module.

[0020] Furthermore, the network communication module transmits data via the encrypted TLS protocol and uses OTA firmware upgrades to remotely upgrade the sensors and gateway, thus possessing data security and remote maintenance capabilities.

[0021] Furthermore, the ZigBee communication module communicates with the main control processor via UART or SPI, supporting automatic node discovery and status maintenance.

[0022] Furthermore, the management backend module supports the JSON data protocol, facilitating integration with user platforms or public cloud platforms to achieve standardized management and data parsing of sensors.

[0023] Furthermore, the power module includes an LMR14030 DC-DC step-down chip and an AMS1086 LDO chip, providing two voltage levels of 5V and 3.3V, and is configured with a filter capacitor (100μF / 104) and an inductor (5.6μH) to suppress noise.

[0024] Furthermore, the gateway housing is equipped with LED status indicator lights (LED1 / LED2) and SWD debugging interfaces (SWD1 / SWD2).

[0025] The beneficial effects are:

[0026] Easy to expand and manage. Supports up to 32 sensor nodes; the gateway automatically discovers and maintains wireless sensors on the same network within the same environment. Supports remote firmware upgrades and fault collection for all sensors without on-site operation, saving labor costs.

[0027] Low cost and low deployment threshold, low hardware cost. The gateway uses a low-cost embedded main controller, running a lightweight RTOS real-time system and network protocol stack, yet still implements advanced functions such as 4G communication, Ethernet wired communication, and web backend. The gateway is inexpensive and offers excellent real-time performance and stability.

[0028] The network boasts high stability and security. It enables concurrent 4G and Ethernet wired communication, with automatic hot-swapping upon disconnection at either network end. To mitigate security risks, the gateway's OTA firmware employs encryption and verification to prevent vulnerabilities or man-in-the-middle attacks; TLS encryption can be enabled for transmission to ensure sensitive data (such as industrial data) is not stolen.

[0029] Easy to configure. The smart wireless sensor gateway has a built-in backend management page, allowing users to access it via a browser on any PC within the same network environment to remotely manage connected wireless sensors. The page also provides the function of remotely pushing firmware to sensors and the gateway, requiring no professional networking knowledge and making it user-friendly for ordinary users.

[0030] The protocol is standardized, and data transmission and sensor management adopt the open and standardized JSON protocol, which facilitates integration with various public platforms or user private platforms. Attached Figure Description

[0031] For ease of explanation, this utility model is described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0032] Figure 1 This is the circuit schematic diagram of this utility model;

[0033] Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram of the control processor module of this utility model;

[0034] Figure 3 This is the circuit diagram of the Ethernet module of this utility model;

[0035] Figure 4 This is a circuit diagram of the ZigBee wireless communication module of this utility model;

[0036] Figure 5 This is the circuit diagram of the power module of this utility model;

[0037] Figure 6 This is the circuit diagram of the Flash storage module of this utility model;

[0038] Figure 7 This is a circuit diagram of the ARM memory module of this utility model;

[0039] Figure 8 This is the circuit diagram of the RJ1 connector of this utility model;

[0040] Figure 9 This is the circuit diagram of the power input protection module of this utility model;

[0041] Figure 10 This is the circuit diagram of the 4G module connector of this utility model;

[0042] Figure 11 This utility model relates to a power supply voltage regulator and filter module. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0044] See Figure 1-10 This invention relates to an embodiment of an intelligent wireless sensor gateway, the circuit structure of which includes: a main control processor module, a ZigBee wireless communication module, a network communication module (Ethernet and 4G), a storage module, a power supply module, a background management module, a security encryption module, and an auxiliary function module.

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown, the main control processor module:

[0046] This gateway uses the STM32F429ZGT6 as its core control chip. This chip has a high-performance Cortex-M4 core with a main frequency of up to 180MHz. It has many embedded peripheral interfaces, including UART (USART_TX, USART_RX), SPI (PC0-PC13), FMC, ETH, GPIO, etc. It supports running an embedded RTOS and is responsible for the management and control of the overall system logic.

[0047] The main control chip is responsible for initializing all peripherals; periodically polling the ZigBee module to obtain data from each node; and managing dual-network data upload, web service operation, OTA upgrades, and firmware management.

[0048] Pinout, wiring, and functions of the main control chip (STM32F429ZGT6); it adopts a 144-pin LQFP package and integrates a Cortex-M4 core; power supply section: VDD / VSS, VDDA / VSSA, and VREF+, VCAP_1, VCAP_2; it uses an external 25MHz crystal oscillator (X3) with matching capacitors C172 and C174 to provide the clock source for the main system; the SWD debug interface is connected via 10k pull-down resistors (R105, R106), and debug terminals are reserved; it works with the FMC peripheral bus to realize SDRAM expansion; it realizes data interaction with peripherals through USART, SPI, RMII, GPIO, etc.

[0049] like Figure 4 As shown, the ZigBee wireless communication module:

[0050] The gateway is equipped with a ZigBee module (AW21P2EF), which connects to the main controller (USART1) via a UART interface. This module supports a star network topology, allowing up to 32 wireless temperature and vibration sensor nodes to join and communicate with each other.

[0051] The main controller interacts with the ZigBee module via UART commands, issuing broadcast commands or peer-to-peer access; it supports automatic node registration, online status monitoring, and abnormal disconnection detection; and it supports remotely pushing configuration parameters and firmware packages to nodes.

[0052] The ZigBee module (AW21P2EF) interface signals include TXD_AW21 and RXD_AW21, which are connected to the STM32's USART1; module control signals such as RESET_AW21, WAKE, and SLEEP are controlled via GPIO; the SWD debug interface is brought out separately for easy module firmware upgrades and debugging; the power supply is 3.3V, with decoupling capacitors and TVS protection.

[0053] like Figure 3 , Figure 5 As shown, the network communication module consists of two parts: the first part is a 100Mbps Ethernet interface, and the second part is a 4G cellular communication interface. For the 100Mbps Ethernet interface circuit, the DM9162 chip is used as the Ethernet PHY and connected to the RMII interface of the STM32. The gateway supports DHCP or static IP allocation. Data is uploaded to the user server via Socket in the standard JSON protocol format. It has a network disconnection reconnection mechanism and status indication.

[0054] like Figure 1, 8 As shown, an external 25MHz crystal oscillator (X2) serves as the PHY clock; the RJ1 connector (HR913550AE) has a built-in transformer with a termination resistance of 49.9Ω; the PHY power supply is 3.3V (PHY_3V3), isolated by ferrite beads (FB1, FB2); MDC / MDIO is configured by the master control register; PHY_RESET is controlled by GPIO and supports soft reset; SPD_LED and ACT_LED provide LED status indication; all interface signals are equipped with TVS diodes and 33Ω current-limiting resistors to improve anti-interference capability.

[0055] like Figure 10 As shown, the 4G cellular communication interface circuit includes a standard 4G module connector (X0812FVS), which communicates with the main control via UART and supports common 4G modules. The network module supports dialing via AT commands; it can work with Ethernet, prioritizing wired connections and automatically switching to 4G after a connection loss.

[0056] The storage module uses W9825G6KH SDRAM and MX25R6435F SPI Flash:

[0057] W9825G6KH SDRAM: Connected to the main controller via the FMC interface, used for caching data, system stack, and runtime buffer;

[0058] MX25R6435F SPI Flash: Used to store sensor lists, user parameters, web resources, and firmware packages. Supports OTA upgrades.

[0059] like Figure 5 As shown, for the power module: the gateway power supply uses a +24V industrial power supply, which is converted as follows: the +24V is stepped down to +5V using an LMR14030 DC-DC chip; the +5V is further stepped down to +3.3V using an AMS1086-3.3 voltage regulator chip; all critical modules are powered by 3.3V; TVS diodes, PPTC fuses, and inductor filters are added to the power path to improve anti-interference and electromagnetic compatibility.

[0060] This circuit also includes a background management module: the main controller runs a lightweight web server (such as based on LWIP+HTTPD), and the web page calls local resources through SPI Flash to realize graphical configuration operations for users: the page supports viewing information of all connected sensor nodes; it can number sensors, configure sampling frequencies, etc.; it has the function of remotely selecting firmware and pushing OTA; all settings are submitted through the JSON protocol, processed in the background and stored in Flash.

[0061] Users simply need to connect their PC to the same network environment (or access the 4G module via a public IP address) to log in to the backend page through a browser to complete all management operations and remotely manage the connected wireless sensors. The page also provides the function of remotely pushing firmware to sensors and gateways, requiring no professional networking knowledge and is user-friendly for ordinary users.

[0062] The security encryption module in this circuit includes: all data uploaded to the server can be configured to use TLS for encrypted transmission; when the gateway's own firmware and sensor firmware are upgraded, a signature + CRC verification mechanism is used to prevent the injection of malicious code; all upgrade packages are transmitted after being encrypted with AES and can only be executed after being decrypted and verified by the main control unit.

[0063] like Figure 11 As shown, the ferrite bead isolation in this circuit is implemented by a 3.3V voltage regulator and filter module. The core component is an AMS1086CD-3.3 regulator, which converts the input +5V voltage into a stable 3.3V (3V3D) output to power the PHY chip. C11 and C13 serve as input / output energy storage capacitors to suppress low-frequency ripple; C12 / C14 / C19 / C20 / C21 form a multi-stage decoupling network to filter out high-frequency noise. FB1 / FB2 (120Ω ferrite beads) isolate digital and analog grounds (DGND / GND) to reduce signal crosstalk and ensure the power purity of sensitive circuits such as the PHY. The overall design balances efficiency and EMC performance, making it suitable for high-reliability embedded systems.

[0064] Four RESPACK4-4 resistor array elements are set in this circuit to provide unified pull-up, pull-down or current limiting for multiple GPIO signal lines of the main control chip, to prevent floating pins from causing logic abnormalities, enhance the electrical stability and anti-interference capability of the system, and effectively save PCB space and simplify circuit layout design through integrated packaging.

[0065] The SRV05-4 device in the circuit diagram is a four-channel electrostatic discharge protection (diode) array, mainly used to suppress transient voltages on high-speed data lines such as USB OTG_FS_DP / DM and critical signal lines. When external electrostatic discharge or surge interference occurs, the SRV05-4 can quickly clamp and guide excess energy to ground, protecting the main control chip and downstream circuits from damage, and significantly improving the system's ESD resistance and electromagnetic compatibility.

[0066] like Figure 9As shown, this circuit also includes a 24V power input protection module. The TVS diode (B360A-13-F / SMB36CA) quickly clamps high-voltage transients, and the gas discharge tube (GDT1 / GDT2) discharges high-energy impacts such as lightning strikes or surges. Then, the common-mode choke (L20) filters out power supply noise, and finally outputs a stable +24V for the downstream circuits, achieving surge protection and EMI suppression for industrial-grade power supplies.

[0067] This circuit also includes auxiliary function modules: LED indicator lights (such as power light, work light, network status light) are set for status indication; a debugging serial port, SWD interface, and Reset button are reserved for convenient on-site debugging and maintenance; all interfaces are protected by electrostatic protection devices (such as SRV05-4) to protect the chip I / O ports.

[0068] Workflow summary:

[0069] 1. After power-on, the main control unit initializes all modules;

[0070] 2. The main controller loads the configuration from Flash and starts the web service;

[0071] 3. The ZigBee module automatically forms a network and connects to each sensor node;

[0072] 4. The main controller periodically collects ZigBee node data and caches it in SDRAM;

[0073] 5. Data is uploaded to the user platform in JSON format via Ethernet or 4G;

[0074] 6. Users can log in to the backend webpage to view data, configure parameters, or perform OTA upgrades;

[0075] 7. Automatically switch communication links when the network is abnormal;

[0076] 8. Fault information will also be uploaded to the server to assist in remote diagnosis.

[0077] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent wireless sensor gateway, characterized in that: It includes a main control processor module, which runs an embedded real-time operating system and manages sensor data acquisition, communication protocol processing, and system control logic; The ZigBee communication module communicates with the main control processor module to establish a star-shaped wireless communication network, supporting the access of up to 32 wireless temperature and vibration sensors. The network communication module includes an Ethernet interface and a 4G cellular mobile communication interface, which is used to upload sensor data to the user server and supports dual-network concurrent communication and automatic hot standby switching. The storage module includes SDRAM and SPI Flash, used for data caching and firmware storage, respectively; The management backend module runs on the main control processor module based on a web interface, allowing users to access the gateway through a browser for remote configuration, maintenance, and firmware push. The power module takes an industrial 24V input and provides 3.3V and 5V power outputs for use by various circuit modules.

2. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control processor module is an STM32F429ZGT6 microcontroller. The main control processor module is connected to SDRAM through the FMC interface, connected to the Flash chip through the SPI interface, and has reserved USART and SPI interfaces for expanding the wireless communication module.

3. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 2, characterized in that: The network communication module transmits data via the encrypted TLS protocol and uses OTA firmware upgrades to remotely upgrade sensors and gateways, providing data security and remote maintenance capabilities.

4. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ZigBee communication module communicates with the main control processor via UART or SPI, and supports automatic node discovery and status maintenance.

5. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 4, characterized in that: The management backend module supports the JSON format data protocol, which facilitates integration with user platforms or public cloud platforms, enabling standardized management and data parsing of sensors.

6. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power module includes an LMR14030 DC-DC step-down chip and an AMS1086 LDO chip, providing two voltage levels of 5V and 3.3V, and is configured with a 100μF / 104 filter capacitor and a 5.6μH inductor to suppress noise.

7. The intelligent wireless sensor gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gateway housing is equipped with LED status indicator lights LED1 / LED2 and SWD debugging interfaces SWD1 / SWD2.

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