IoT Data Relay via Mobile Device Mediator
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Solution Overview
Problem
IoT devices without a wireless network connection face challenges in data logging and communication, as they cannot establish a connection with a cell site or access the radio access network, limiting their ability to transmit periodic data gathered from sensors.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a mobile communication device using a device monitoring application to establish a communication session with IoT devices via short-range wireless protocols like Bluetooth or WiFi, store data, and then connect to a network via a cell site or WiFi modem to transmit the data to a server, ensuring secure and efficient data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If IoT devices use short-range wireless protocols like Bluetooth to gather and store data locally, then data can be transmitted even without network connection, but the device complexity increases due to requiring mobile communication device intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile communication device as an intermediary between IoT devices and the network. The mobile device runs an application that discovers IoT devices via Bluetooth, establishes communication sessions, retrieves stored data, and transmits it to servers. This mediator approach allows IoT devices to offload network communication responsibilities while maintaining reliable data transmission capability.
2Reliability
If IoT devices continuously beacon to transmit data, then real-time monitoring is achieved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic beaconing where IoT devices transmit data at intervals rather than continuously. The mobile communication device's application periodically discovers and connects to IoT devices to retrieve accumulated data. This periodic approach maintains monitoring capability while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs preliminary data storage where IoT devices accumulate data in local memory before network transmission opportunities arise. The devices perform data gathering and storage in advance, then transmit bulk data when a mobile device establishes connection. This preliminary action reduces the frequency of active transmission events, lowering overall power consumption.
3Loss of information
If IoT devices store data locally without network connection, then data loss is prevented, but data management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts data management responsibilities from the IoT devices and concentrates them in the mobile communication device's application. The IoT devices simply store data locally with minimal management overhead, while the mobile application handles discovery, connection establishment, data retrieval, validation, and server transmission. This extraction simplifies IoT device functionality while maintaining robust data management.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of gathering data from a wireless data device that is not connected to the internet using a mobile device like a phone, laptop, or tablet. The wireless data device signals an device monitoring application on the smartphone to connect. The device monitoring application and the wireless data device trade passwords to establish a secure wireless connection. The data is sent from the wireless data device to the smartphone and stored in memory. The device monitoring application connects wirelessly to the internet through a cell tower. If cell service is not available, the device monitoring application waits till cell service is available to connect to the internet. The device monitoring application on the smartphone establishes a secure connection to a server located on the internet and sends the data to an device monitoring application executing on the server.