Source: http://patents.com/us-9542835.html
Timestamp: 2018-04-24 16:36:03
Document Index: 238207764

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 200980134889', 'Application No. 2011', 'Application No. 200980134889', 'Application No. 2011', 'Application No. 200980134889', 'Application No. 200980134889', 'Application No. 09789281', 'Application No. 61']

US Patent # 9,542,835. Networked pest control system - Patents.com
United States Patent 9,542,835
Borth , et al. January 10, 2017
Borth; Paul W. (Zionsville, IN), Scherer; Peter N. (Lebanon, IN), Tolley; Mike P. (Indianapolis, IN), Voglewede; Christopher J. (Lafayette, IN), Schneider; Brian M. (Carmel, IN), Orr; Nailah (Carmel, IN), Baxter, Jr.; Richard V. (Appleton, WI), Brune; Douglas K. (Appleton, WI)
Family ID: 1000002338242
14/336,529
US 20140325892 A1 Nov 6, 2014
13213153 Aug 19, 2011 8830071
12584581 Sep 27, 2011 8026822
61191461 Sep 9, 2008
Current CPC Class: G08C 17/02 (20130101); A01M 1/02 (20130101); A01M 1/026 (20130101); A01M 1/2011 (20130101); A01M 23/00 (20130101); A01M 23/38 (20130101); A01M 25/002 (20130101); A01M 31/002 (20130101); G01N 29/265 (20130101); H04L 67/025 (20130101); H04L 67/125 (20130101); A01M 2200/011 (20130101); H04L 67/26 (20130101)
Current International Class: G08C 17/02 (20060101); A01M 1/02 (20060101); G01N 29/265 (20060101); A01M 23/38 (20060101); A01M 1/20 (20060101); A01M 23/00 (20060101); A01M 25/00 (20060101); A01M 31/00 (20060101); H04L 29/08 (20060101)
Field of Search: ;340/573.2,573.1,531 ;73/865.8 ;43/82,132.1
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Attorney, Agent or Firm: Corvin; Carl D. Barnes & Thornburg LLP
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/213,153, entitled "NETWORKED PEST CONTROL SYSTEM," filed on Aug. 19, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,830,071, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/584,581, entitled "NETWORKED PEST CONTROL SYSTEM," filed on Sep. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,026,822, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/191,461 filed on Sep. 9, 2008, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. A system comprising: a plurality of pest control devices, each pest control device including (i) a bait including a pest-consumable material, (ii) a sensor operable to generate a detection signal indicative of a pest presence, (iii) a controller configured to receive the detection signal and generate an electronic signal based on the detection signal, and (iv) a wireless communication circuit operable to transmit the electronic signal, a gateway to receive electronic signals from the plurality of pest control devices, and a wireless communication node operable to relay electronic signals to the gateway from the plurality of pest control devices, wherein the wireless communication node, the plurality of pest control devices, the gateway are configured to establish a wireless communication network, and (ii) each pest control device includes a human-detectable indicator to indicate establishment of the wireless communication network.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the bait includes an attractant for at least one of bedbugs and termites.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the bait includes an attractant for rodents.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a computer network in communication with the gateway, a data management server in communication with the computer network to receive and store data based on the electronic signals from the plurality of pest control devices, and a user access client connected to the computer network to access data stored in the data management server.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a second plurality of pest control devices, each pest control device including (i) a bait including a pest-consumable material, (ii) a sensor operable to generate a detection signal indicative of a pest presence, (iii) a controller configured to receive the detection signal and generate an electronic signal based on the detection signal, and (iv) a wireless communication circuit operable to transmit the electronic signal, and a second wireless communication node operable to relay electronic signals to the gateway from the second plurality of pest control devices.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the human-detectable indicator is a visual indicator.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is operable to generate the detection signal based on electrical capacitance.
8. A method comprising: positioning a wireless communication node at a first position, generating a first output at the wireless communication node to indicate direct or indirect communication between the wireless communication node and a data collector, positioning a pest control device at a second position, the pest control device including a pest sensor, a bait including a pest-consumable material, and a wireless communication circuit, and generating a second output at the pest control device to indicate direct or indirect communication between the pest control device and the data collector.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first output includes a luminous visual output and the second output includes a luminous visual output.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating a third output different than the second output at the pest control device when the pest control device fails to establish a wireless communication link after a predefined period of time.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: installing one or more other pest control devices in response to the third output, and after the installing of the one or more other pest control devices, attempting again to establish the wireless communication link for the selected pest control device.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: positioning additional pest control devices to form a number of pest control device groups, providing a number of different gateways, each gateway corresponding to a respective one of the number of pest control device groups, monitoring each of several different locations with the respective one of the number of pest control device groups, the different locations being remote from one another, from each gateway, communicating information to a data management server, and establishing user access with the data management server.
13. The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting sensor information from the pest sensor of the pest control device to the wireless communication node, and relaying the sensor information from the wireless communication node to the data collector.
14. A system, comprising: a pest control device, including: a pest sensor operable to generate one or more signals representative of pest detection, a bait including a pest-consumable material, circuitry including (i) a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the pest sensor to transmit information corresponding to the pest detection, and (ii) a controller to execute operating logic to establish a wireless communication link with one or more other devices, and an indicator coupled to the circuitry to provide a first operator output indicative of establishment of the wireless communication link, and a second operator output indicative of failure to establish the wireless communication link.
15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a gateway to receive the information corresponding to the pest detection from the pest control device.
16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a wireless communication node operable to relay the information corresponding to the pest detection to the gateway from the pest control device.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the wireless communication node includes a second pest control device.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the gateway includes means for communicating sensor status information from the pest control device to a data management server, and the data management server includes (i) means for storing and evaluating the sensor status information and (ii) means for accessing data stored with the data management server by a user.
19. The system of claim 14, wherein the pest control device includes at least one of a hall effect device or a magnetoresistor.
20. The system of claim 14, wherein the pest control device includes a component responsive to user input to place the transceiver in an installation mode, and the controller is configured to execute the operating logic to establish the wireless communication link with one or more other devices during the installation mode.
Recently, advances have been made to provide for the targeted delivery of pesticide chemicals only after pests have been detected. One example is the SENTRICON TERMITE COLONY ELIMINATION SYSTEM.TM. of Dow AgroSciences that has a business address of 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, Ind. In this system, a number of stations are installed in the ground about a dwelling to be protected. A pest control service provider periodically checks the stations, which can be labor-intensive.
Similarly, rodent traps in food processing/storage facilities, pharmaceutical production facilities, and the like need to be routinely checked--resulting in significant labor expenditures. Accordingly, there is a demand for alternative pest control device monitoring techniques. Alternatively or additionally, the ability to gather more comprehensive data relating to pest behavior is sought. Thus, there is a continuing demand for further advancement in the area of pest control and related sensing technologies.
FIG. 1 depicts pest control system 20 of the present application. System 20 includes a pest control monitoring arrangement 22 that communicates with a central pest data management server 120 by computer network 24. Computer network 24 is more specifically depicted in two nonlimiting forms as a wireless Wide Area Network (WAN) 25 and internet 26 in FIG. 1. A number of clients 122 of server 120 are also depicted that can selectively access server 120 through internet 26. Client 122 includes browser subsystem 122a, spreadsheet interface 122b, email interface 122c, Short Message Service (SMS) interface 122d, and other interface subsystems 122e. It should be appreciated that while wireless WAN 25 and internet 26 are specifically depicted, other types of data communication networks can be utilized additionally or alternatively.
Pest sensor 46 is electrically coupled to controller 70 to provide a corresponding signal indicative of pest presence and/or activity. In one form, sensor 46 provides an electrical input to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) included in controller 70. Pest sensor 46 is associated with bait 44 that may be of a food or other material commonly consumed by pests of interest and/or a lure, attractant, or the like. It should be appreciated that as used herein, bait 44 may or may not include a pesticide and may or may not be intended to be more attractive to pests of interest compared to other materials in proximity. In one arrangement, pest interaction with bait 44 triggers a change in the signal sent by sensor 46. Typically, detection is triggered by a variation in electrical current or voltage. In one form, such variation results from a change in electrical conductivity/resistance of one or more elements of sensor 46 in correspondence to pest presence. Alternatively or additionally, a detection signal could be generated based on electrical capacitance, magnetism, an acoustic characteristic, or optical change--just to name a few alternatives. Commonly owned. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,348,890; 7,262,702; 7,111,119; 7,212,112; 6,914,529; and 6,724,312, describe several such sensing techniques (which were previously each incorporated by reference). It should be appreciated that while one pest sensor 46 is indicated in FIG. 2, in other arrangements multiple pest sensors may be utilized with inputs provided to controller 70 and/or a different device. Furthermore, in other alternative arrangements, bait 44 may be absent.
In one example, FIG. 3 a form of pest control device that integrates sensor 46 with snap-type of rodent trap 90; where like reference numerals refer to like features previously described. In this arrangement, sensor 46 more specifically includes a flexible detection member 46a with an electrical resistance that varies depending on the degree of its mechanical deflection/flexure. Trap 90 includes a base housing 92 that is pivotally coupled to spring 94. Spring 94 is held in place by trap pin 95 as shown in FIG. 3. In this configuration, if a rodent applies sufficient downward pressure on bait plate 44a, pin 95 is displaced and spring 94 is released to pen the rodent between the spring 94 and base housing 92. Correspondingly, the deflection of member 46a changes in response to the displacement of pin 95, causing a change in its electrical resistance. Member 46a is electrically coupled to circuitry 43 to provide a corresponding signal indicative of the triggering of the trap and rodent detection. Circuitry 43 resides in chamber 96 defined by base housing 92. Alternatively or additionally, rodent and/or other pest control devices may include a pressure-sensitive pad to detect presence. Further, it should be appreciated that while pest presence is typically the detection goal, any activity/actuation of sensor 46 may be of interest for a given pest control scheme.
Returning to FIG. 2, circuitry 43 further includes temperature sensor 74 coupled to controller 70, which, without limitation could be a thermistor, a thermocouple, or the like that provides an analog input to an ADC unit within controller 70. In other embodiments, a moisture sensor may be included in addition to or in lieu of temperature sensor 74. In still other embodiments neither of these sensor types is present. Also included in circuitry 43 is an operator-activated switch 76 of a magnetic form comprised of a magnetically-responsive component 77 (such as a hall-effect device or magnetoresistor to name a couple of nonlimiting examples) and an indicator 80, both of which are also coupled to controller 70. Switch 76 is arranged to respond to a magnetic field when magnetic field source 78 is in close proximity thereto. In one form, magnetic field source 78 is provided in the form of a hand-held wand 79. Indicator 80 includes two Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) 82 and 84 each of a different color. In one particular nonlimiting example, one of LEDs 82 and 84 is red, while the other of LEDs 82 and 84 is green. The operation of these features is further described hereinafter in connection with FIG. 5; however, further aspects to gateway 33 are first described in connection with FIG. 4. In other embodiments, switch 76 may be of a mechanical variety, such as a pushbutton, rotary, slider, or toggle type; a capacitive proximity type, an optic type, or a thermally activated type--just to name a few possibilities. In one nonlimiting alternative, rodent trap activation was demonstrated with a pushbutton form of switch.
Operation 224 first attempts to find a direct communications path with the corresponding gateway 33 provided is meets specified quality of service (QoS) criteria--such as signal strength. If a direct path meeting the search criteria is not found, then operation 224 attempts to find a communications path to gateway 33 through other nearby nodes 42 that have already gone through the network installation procedure 220 (if any). The criteria for these "indirect" communication paths can be different than those for direct connections, and take into account, in addition to signal strength, how many "hops" are required and/or how many other devices might already be routed through a given node 42 operating as a repeater. In some implementations, a limit may be set on the number of communication hops required to reach the corresponding gateway 33, a limit may be set on the number of relaying/repeating nodes 42 involved in a given communication pathway, and/or a limit may be set on how may nodes 42 depend on a specific node 42 to relay communication.
Procedure 220 continues with conditional 226 that tests whether the desired communication path has been established. If the test of conditional 226 is affirmative (yes), data designating the communication path is stored and a success code is returned--reflecting that a direct or indirect path meeting the search criteria has been found. Further, using the identified communication path, the selected node 42 communicates a unique identifier (such as a unique multibit identification code) to its corresponding gateway 33 of the same group 30. Procedure 220 continues with operation 240 to provide an output indicating success with indicator 80. In one form, this output includes illuminating one of LEDs 82 or 84, such as a green LED, for a specified period of time (such as 10 seconds, for example). From operation 240, procedure 220 continues with conditional 242 to determine if there are any more nodes 42 to install. If not, then procedure 220 halts. If there are further nodes to install, procedure 220 returns to operation 222 to select and activate the next node 42 for network installation.
Once network 36 is established, each pest control device 40 and gateway 32 perform certain operations on a routine basis. In one embodiment, each node 42 participating in network 36 has a low-power consumption sleep mode and at least one "awake" mode. For one form, the sleep mode is performed based on an internal sleep timer provided by controller 70, that allows the node 42 to significantly reduce its power consumption during idle periods and accordingly enables longer service life. For such a sleep mode, the transceiver 52 and/or other peripherals are typically turned off to conserve power.
For this arrangement, the 100 millisecond tasks include sensor signal measurements and evaluation of such signals for possible action. In one particular variation, node 42 includes an internal, multi-channel 12-bit A/D converter for measuring analog signals from external sources over three different channels. One channel is used for pest sensor 46 input, a second channel is used for temperature sensor 74 input, and a third channel is connected to battery 64 to report on its status. The resulting digital values are stored in memory 72 and are compared against designated limits for LOW FAULT, LOW ALARM, LOW WARNING, HIGH WARNING, HIGH ALARM, and HIGH FAULT conditions. If any FAULT, WARNING, or ALARM condition is detected, an event message is provided for transmission to gateway 33 indicating the affected channel/source, condition (FAULT, WARNING, or ALARM), and the measured value. Any or all of these condition tests may be optionally disabled. Hysteresis can be applied to the condition tests to prevent multiple event messages from being prepared and transmitted during the pendency of the condition. Further, pest sensor 46 input may be processed as needed to reduce the likelihood of an undesired outcome due to noise, activity of a nontargeted pest in the vicinity of the sensor, or slow, gradual changes with temperature. These type of adjustments may be particularly desirable for a flexible resistance-type sensor like that is associated with trap 90.
In one implementation directed specifically to a flex-varying electrical resistance rodent sensor as provided with trap 90, the rodent sensor signal value is exponentially smoothed using smoothing constants of 1/32 and 31/32 in accordance with equation (1) as follows: NewSmoothedValue=((1/32)*NewSample)+((31/32)*OldSmoothedValue) (1) The operating logic computes the absolute value of the difference of the NewSample and OldSmoothedValue according to equation (2) as follows: DIFF=ABS(NewSample-OldSmoothedValue) (2) DIFF is then compared against a programmable threshold value. If DIFF exceeds the threshold value, the sensor is determined to be "active" and a "hit" is registered by incrementing the value of a HIT COUNTER maintained by the operating logic. If DIFF does not exceed the threshold value, the HIT COUNTER is decremented until it reaches a terminal value of zero. Further, for this implementation, operating logic of controller 70 maintains a 6.4 second sliding time "aperture" over which the value of HIT COUNTER is examined. If HIT COUNTER exceeds a programmable threshold any time within this sliding 6.4 second interval, the operating logic interprets the condition as a rodent hit, and it prepares an event message for transmission indicating the active condition. By adjusting the programmable thresholds for DIFF and HIT COUNTER terminal values, this approach adjusts sensitivity of the rodent sensor, reducing false alarms and ensuring that true active conditions are detected and acted upon.
Gateway communications may be of a routine, periodically scheduled type, or of an event/condition-driven type. Additionally, customer or administrator initiated queries or updates may be delivered to nodes 42. In one implementation, "downlink" communications from server 120 to gateway 33 utilize User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and "uplink" communications from gateway 33 to server 120, utilize File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Further, this nonlimiting implementation provides operating logic for gateway 33 as a collection of software tasks written in C# under the Microsoft Windows XP multithreading environment provided by Windows XP and the NET Framework. A description of several exemplary tasks for this implementation are described as follows: (a) Start-up: This task initializes communications peripherals including interface 250 and modem 260 to establish links to networks 36 and 25, respectively. (b) Pairing Request Listener Task: Gateway 33 continuously monitors for messages over network 36 that indicate a new node 42 has joined the network 36 or has formed a new communications path to gateway 33. In one form, an SDP PAIRING REQUEST message is provided to gateway 33 upon successful completion of a new node 42 invocating a SEARCH REQUEST, which may occur when an installer activates the install mode with switch 76, or after a node 42 successfully self-heals a connection path to gateway 33. The SDP PAIRING REQUEST message contains information about the Node's identity, function (the node sensor type), and communications path, including QoS metrics. Gateway 33 checks the node identification (ID) against a locally stored list of currently installed nodes 42. If the node ID is new, the information, including communications path, is stored by gateway 33, and the newly added node 42 is added to the polling list of Nodes that should be polled during the Polling Task described hereinafter. If the Node ID is already in the database, only the updated path information is stored. (c) Event Listener Task: Gateway 33 listens for unsolicited event messages from nodes 42 of its group 30, which are generated to indicate conditions, such as: Sensor Active, Low Battery, Sensor Fault, etc. Upon receipt of such an event message, gateway 33 attaches a local time stamp and forwards the event to server 120 over the GRPS connection using FTP. (d) Polling Task: Gateway 33 implements a task to periodically poll each node 42 of its group 30 in a "round robin" fashion. Upon expiration of a configurable POLL TIMER, gateway 33 generates a POLL REQUEST for the next node 42 in succession from a listing of the installed nodes 42 and awaits a response. The resulting response message from the polled node 42 includes information such as sensor status, battery status, temperature, and condition, which is stored to a local database file and periodically sent to server 120 using FTP. (e) Downlink Listener Task: Gateway 33 implements a task that continuously listens for "downlink" commands from server 120, which are received as User Datagram Protocol packets, and are used for remote configuration and diagnostics. (f) Time Synchronization Task--To maintain time accurate timing in between Server 120 and gateway 33, a Network Time Protocol is used to provide synchronization.
Referring to FIG. 6, the back-end data management server 120 is further depicted in diagrammatic form. Server 120 provides various virtual/logical components to allow sensor and node information from geographically disbursed gateways 33 to be aggregated into database 124. Server 120 has the ability to communicate with all remote pest control device groups 30, evaluate resulting data, and take corresponding actions using an Application Service Provider (ASP) model. Among other things, server 120 collects the information from the various sites (groups 30), aggregates and processes this information and determines what information needs to be forwarded to a customer. In addition, server 120 facilitates a data archive, notification and reporting process. Selected server functional components, as defined by software or other operating logic executed by server 120, are listed as follows: (a) Firewall 127 provides customary data filtering, encryption, and authentication for communications over computer network 24. (b) Conduits 123 define various application and transport communication protocols from gateways 33 or other information sources, such as UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol), TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol), SMTP/POP3 (Email Based), or Web Service. (c) Database 124 among other things, stores the sensor data collected in the field by groups 30. Additional stored data types are gateway 33, node 42, site, and user configuration and other external data feeds. This data provides business intelligence back to the user so sensor data can be interpreted as it relates to other environmental information i.e. air quality, temperature, rain amounts, etc. Applications 130 include a notifications and alarm service module 130e that can dispatch alerts to clients 122 (see FIG. 1) from database 124 based on subscriptions to the data and conditions set within the database 124. These subscriptions are managed by subscription manager module 130f. In on form, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is the database engine for server 124. Reporting service module 125, analysis service module 126 (including data mining), various integration service modules are defined by this system. Server 120 defines a business logic layer Application Programming Interface (API) 130a including a notification queue managed by subscription manager module 130f and a remote device queue. Alarm and acknowledge ASP net pages 130b; ASP Net Application pages 130c; profiler, system builder, and network heartbeat watchdog modules 130d are also associated with this API. (d) Web servers deliver applications 130 that allow users to interact with the data over the Word Wide Web using clients 122. In one form, the presentation layer application allowing graphical presentation of the data is written in ASP.NET.
Once an on-site technician installs all the nodes 42 for a given gateway 33, the site installation and configuration data is received by server 120 from the gateway 33. The data is then parsed at server 120 and stored in database 124. If a change to the configuration is necessary, the stored configuration data is modified and sent to the gateway 33. Gateway 33 will then retrieve this data and compare the modifications to implement any changes. Server 120 regularly receives event and sensor data from the gateway 33 of each group 30 and stores the values in the database. As new events take place at sensors 46, the corresponding data is sent to server 120 that performs notification services via module 120f to those recipients that have subscribed to the information. On a periodic basis (such as once a week), reports on trap activity and battery levels are also dispatched to recipients utilizing reporting services module 125.
In one form, a password-protected web portal is provided to customers where they may log in to observe their corresponding sites/groups 30, generate reports with reporting services module 125, and observe the current status or summaries of recent events through a "dashboard" type of view. For those sensors 46 which by either its nature (say a moisture sensor) or customer interest (say a rodent station in food processing facility) require that event notification be nearly instantaneous, customers may choose to have notifications sent via e-mail, text message, fax or phone message (via clients 122c and/or 122d, for example). This alarm process can be managed interactively by responding to a server generated email or SMS communication, or by logging into the secure web portal. In contrast to such event-driven communications, for sensors where the information is more routine (say exterior rodent/termite bait stations), customers may choose to have summary reports delivered through spreadsheet reports or physical mailings on a scheduled basis. In one form, customer reports of site activity are customized to include customer-requested information on a requested schedule. Parameters governing how system 20 reacts to collected sensor information can be selected and set by the customers through a web interface. Such parameters include the time frame for notifications of a given sensor type, the delivery mechanism of any alerts, the scheduling of site status reports, etc. These may be updated and changed at any time by the customer. If an application is such that and action may be taken without direct human presence/intervention, such as flipping a switch, the system is capable of initiating such action as specified by customer need. For business systems that rely on the site data for billing and/or supervisory information, the data can be presented in a transport that allows integration into a customer business system.
Any theory, mechanism of operation, proof, or finding stated herein is meant to further enhance understanding of the present application and is not intended to make the present application in any way dependent upon such theory, mechanism of operation, proof, or finding. It should be understood that any use of the word preferable, preferably or preferred in the description above indicates that the feature so described may be more desirable, it nonetheless may not be necessary and embodiments lacking the same may be contemplated as within the scope of the invention, that scope being defined by the claims that follow. In reading the claims it is intended that when words such as "a," "an," "at least one," "at least a portion" are used there is no intention to limit the claim to only one item unless specifically stated to the contrary in the claim. Further, when the language "at least a portion" and/or "a portion" is used the item may include a portion and/or the entire item unless specifically stated to the contrary. While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the selected embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes, modifications and equivalents that come within the spirit of the invention as defined herein or by any of the following claims are desired to be protected.
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