Sensor Placement via Channel Quality Echo Back Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
In smart buildings, sensors often face challenges with smooth signal transmission due to internal structures, leading to suboptimal placement and increased costs, as current methods rely heavily on wireless communication without ensuring optimal channel quality.
Innovation Solution
A location determining method and system that uses digitally modulated test packets and echo back signals to measure channel quality between sensor devices, allowing for the identification of optimal placement locations within a building before sensor installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If sensors are placed based on experience or fixed zone size, then placement speed is improved, but communication reliability deteriorates due to building internal structures blocking signals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by measuring channel quality between AP and sensor locations before final sensor placement. The system performs channel quality measurements during the survey phase, stores measurement results, and uses them to determine optimal placement locations, thereby avoiding poor communication locations before sensors are actually installed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using measured channel quality information to guide sensor placement decisions. The system continuously measures channel quality at different locations, feeds this information back to the placement planning process, and adjusts location selections based on the feedback to ensure reliable communication.
2Device complexity
If wireless communication is used to minimize wiring, then installation complexity is reduced, but signal transmission reliability deteriorates due to building internal structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by conducting channel quality measurements during the survey phase before sensor installation. The system measures signal transmission quality between APs and potential sensor locations, stores these measurements, and uses them to identify optimal locations that ensure reliable wireless communication while maintaining the simplicity of wireless installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical wiring-based sensor placement with wireless communication-based placement, but compensates for the reliability issue by introducing channel quality measurement and selection mechanisms. This substitution maintains installation simplicity while ensuring signal transmission reliability through intelligent location selection.
3Measurement precision
If multiple channel quality measurements are performed, then placement accuracy is improved, but measurement time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs channel quality measurements in advance during the survey phase, before final placement decisions are made. By conducting measurements preliminarily and storing results, the system can make accurate placement decisions without requiring time-consuming measurements at the moment of installation, thus balancing measurement precision with time efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A location determining method 200 for sensor apparatus placements in building includes: a step in which a first measuring device transmits a digitally modulated first test packet through a specific channel at a first location in a building (210); a step in which a second measuring device receives the first test packet and transmits a first echo back signal through the specific channel at a second location in the building (220); a step in which the first measuring device receives the first echo back signal transmitted from the second measuring device and measures a first channel quality of the specific channel based on the first echo back signal (230); a step in which the first measuring device transmits a digitally modulated second test packet through the specific channel (240); a step in which the second measuring device receives the second test packet and transmits a second echo back signal through the specific channel (250); and a step in which the first measuring device receives the second echo back signal transmitted from the second measuring device and measures a second channel quality of the specific channel based on the second echo back signal (260).