Wireless Sensor Pod Uses Trigger Events For Pairing And Testing

Abstract

A wireless sensor pod and associated method use a trigger event to pair with a master device. The wireless sensor pod includes an inertial sensor for detecting physical movement of the wireless sensor pod, a wireless transceiver, a processor communicatively coupled to the inertial sensor and the wireless transceiver, and a memory communicatively coupled with the processor and storing machine readable instructions. When the machine readable instructions are executed by the processor, they are capable of: detecting, using the inertial sensor, a first trigger event caused by the physical movement, and when the first trigger event is detected, transmitting, using the wireless transceiver, a communication to pair the wireless sensor pod with a master device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for pairing a wireless sensor pod using trigger events, comprising:
 detecting, using an inertial sensor within the wireless sensor pod, a first trigger event caused by physical movement of the wireless sensor pod; and   when the first trigger event is detected, transmitting, from the wireless sensor pod, a communication to pair the wireless sensor pod with a master device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the communication comprising first information of the first trigger event, wherein the wireless master device authenticates the communication by matching the first information to second information corresponding to the first trigger event. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second information is determined from one or more sensors within the wireless master device in response to the first trigger event. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , the first trigger event caused by a sequence of physical movement, wherein authentication is based upon matching the sequence within the first information to the sequence within the second information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising generating the trigger event from an actuator within the wireless master device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , the sequence of physical changes being predefined. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , the communication being implemented as one or more of: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Smart, ANT/ANT+, Zigbee, Modulated light pulse (LiFi), WiFi, Ultra-wideband communications, GSM/GPRS/LTE, Acoustic wave modulation (ultrasonic, infrasonic, or audible acoustic wave), and IR. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , the communication comprising time of trigger as measured by the wireless sensor pod. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , the communication further comprising one or more of: battery charge status of wireless sensor pod, device ID, device type, device capability, sensors present on the wireless sensor pod, wireless sensor pod operating mode, trigger type, health status of the wireless sensor pod, and current time of the wireless sensor pod. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , when the wireless sensor pod is in a manufacturing mode the step of transmitting comprising:
 performing at least one manufacturing self-test within the sensor pod;   transmitting results of the at least one manufacturing self-test; and   transitioning the sensor pod to a shipping mode upon completion of the step of transmitting.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , when the wireless sensor pod is in a shipping mode, the step of transmitting comprising:
 transmitting environmental information detected and stored within the wireless sensor pod while in the shipping mode; and then   transitioning from the shipping mode to a user mode when a second trigger event, distinguishable from the first trigger event, is detected by the inertial sensor.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , when the wireless sensor pod is in a user mode, the step of transmitting comprising:
 transitioning into the diagnostic mode;   initiating a sequence of diagnostic self-tests; and   transmitting results of the diagnostic self-tests.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , the physical movement comprising acceleration of the wireless sensor pod, wherein the inertial sensor comprises an accelerometer. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , the physical movement comprising rotation of the wireless sensor pod, wherein the inertial sensor comprises a gyroscope. 
     
     
         15 . A wireless sensor pod configured to use a trigger event to pair with a master device, comprising:
 an inertial sensor for detecting physical movement of the wireless sensor pod;   a wireless transceiver;   a processor communicatively coupled to the inertial sensor and the wireless transceiver; and   a memory communicatively coupled with the processor and storing machine readable instructions that when executed by the processor are capable of:
 detecting, using the inertial sensor, a first trigger event caused by the physical movement; and 
 when the first trigger event is detected, transmitting, using the wireless transceiver, a communication to pair the wireless sensor pod with a master device. 
   
     
     
         16 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , the communication comprising first information of the first trigger event, wherein the wireless master device authenticates the communication by matching the first information to second information corresponding to the first trigger event. 
     
     
         17 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 16 , wherein the second information is determined from one or more sensors within the wireless master device in response to the first trigger event. 
     
     
         18 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 17 , the first trigger event comprising a sequence of physical movement, wherein the authentication is based upon matching the sequence within the first information to the sequence within the second information. 
     
     
         19 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 18 , wherein the trigger event is generated by an actuator within the wireless master device. 
     
     
         20 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 18 , the sequence of physical changes being predefined. 
     
     
         21 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , the communication being implemented as one or more of: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Smart, ANT/ANT+, Zigbee, Modulated light pulse (LiFi), WiFi, Ultra-wideband communications, GSM/GPRS/LTE, Acoustic wave modulation (ultrasonic, infrasonic, or audible acoustic wave), and IR. 
     
     
         22 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , the communication comprising time of trigger as measured by the wireless sensor pod. 
     
     
         23 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 22 , the communication further comprising one or more of: battery charge status of wireless sensor pod, device ID, device type, device capability, sensors present on the wireless sensor pod, wireless sensor pod operating mode, trigger type, health status of the wireless sensor pod, and current time of the wireless sensor pod. 
     
     
         24 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , further comprising machine readable instructions that are executed by the processor when the wireless sensor pod is in a manufacturing mode and are capable of:
 performing at least one manufacturing self-test within the wireless sensor pod;   transmitting results of the at least one manufacturing self-test using the wireless transceiver; and   transitioning the wireless sensor pod to the shipping mode.   
     
     
         25 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , further comprising machine readable instructions that are executed by the processor when the wireless sensor pod is in a shipping mode and are capable of:
 transmitting, using the wireless transceiver, environmental information detected and stored within the wireless sensor pod while in the shipping mode; and then   transitioning from the shipping mode to a user mode when a second trigger event, distinguishable from the first trigger event, is detected by the inertial sensor.   
     
     
         26 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , further comprising machine readable instructions that are executed by the processor when the wireless sensor pod is in a user mode and are capable of:
 transitioning the wireless sensor pod into a diagnostic mode;   initiating a sequence of diagnostic self-tests within the wireless sensor pod; and   transmitting results of the diagnostic self-tests using the wireless transceiver.   
     
     
         27 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , the physical movement comprising an acceleration of the wireless sensor pod, wherein the inertial sensor comprises an accelerometer. 
     
     
         28 . The wireless sensor pod of  claim 15 , the physical movement comprising a rotation of the wireless sensor pod, wherein the inertial sensor comprises a gyroscope.