Short-Range Wireless Control Device for Simultaneous IoT Appliance Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current short-range wireless communication technologies, such as Bluetooth Low Energy, are limited in controlling multiple devices simultaneously due to their point-to-point design and memory constraints in appliance hardware, which hampers efficient communication and control of IoT devices.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables a control device to encode commands within advertisements, allowing appliances to receive and decode these commands without pairing, thereby enabling simultaneous control of multiple devices using short-range wireless communication, with each appliance acting as a network node to expand the communication reach.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If classical Bluetooth point-to-point communication is used to control multiple appliances, then device pairing and control functionality is achieved, but communication efficiency deteriorates due to sequential signaling requiring multiple connection steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control process by having the control device independently encode and transmit separate control signals to each appliance simultaneously, rather than sequentially connecting to each appliance. This segmentation eliminates the time-consuming connection-establishment-disconnection cycle for each device.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple control operations into a single simultaneous transmission phase. The control device combines the functionality of multiple sequential point-to-point communications into one parallel broadcasting operation, achieving control of multiple appliances at the same time.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mesh network structure is implemented to enable simultaneous control of multiple devices, then communication reach is expanded, but device complexity increases due to unagreed standards and memory requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex mesh networking functionality from the appliance hardware and relocates it to the control device. The control device assumes responsibility for encoding and routing control signals, while appliances maintain simple receiving and executing capabilities, thus reducing appliance complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making appliances intelligent nodes that can route messages to each other (complex mesh), the patent inverts the approach by making the control device the intelligent center that directly manages all communications. This inversion simplifies appliance hardware while maintaining expanded communication reach.
3Reliability
If sequential pairing is used to connect control device with multiple appliances, then reliable control connection is established, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming connection sequence
Solution Approach 1:
The control device performs preliminary encoding of control signals for all target appliances before transmission. By pre-preparing and encoding individual control messages for each appliance, the system ensures reliable delivery to the correct devices while eliminating the need for sequential connection establishment during the actual control operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling multiple appliances concurrently using short-range wireless communication includes a control device. A command advertisement includes at least one encoded command and at least one target identity string within an advertisement. The command advertisement is within the control device. A transmitter integral with the control device transmits the command advertisement. Appliances are remotely located relative to the control device and within a transmission range of the transmitter. Each appliance includes at least one receiver, at least one appliance processor and at least one appliance identity string. Each appliance receives the command advertisement through the receiver. The appliance processor decodes the encoded command. The appliance processor only executes the encoded command if the target identity string matches the appliance identity string. The receiver receives the command advertisement without being paired to the transmitter.