A method, a network node and a system for triggering a transmission of
sensor data from a wireless device
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention concerns in general the technical field of wireless transmission
of data. Especially the invention concerns transmission of data from a wireless
devicearranged to an automatic door.
BACKGROUND
Typically wireless devices, for example wireless sensors, obtain sensor data,
such as raw unprocessed data, and the internal processors of the wireless
devices process the obtained sensor data. The wireless devices may be
arranged to an automatic door. The wireless device may be a door sensor
comprising an accelerometer, for example. The processing may be for
example calibration, filtering, converting, scaling, etc. Next the wireless device
may transmit over a wireless communication linkthe outcome of the processed
sensor data to an external unit, such as a cloud server, network node, etc., for
further processing and storing, for example. Typically the wireless devices are
battery operated devices. In some implementations of the battery-operated
wireless devices, for example in elevator environment, changing of the battery
will usually require a visit of service personnel which increases the costs.
Transmitting data over the wireless communication link consumes substantially
much power. In order to achieve low power consumption and long battery life
the amount of data that need to be transmitted over the wireless
communication link should be minimized. The processing operations of the
wireless devices that may compress the essence out of the obtained sensor
data and reduce amount of transmitted data, are essential for optimizing the
power consumption and battery life of the wireless device.
However, in some cases the access to the sensor data would be useful, for
examplefor developers. Some examples of this kind of cases would be
anomalies in device behavior or programming errors in the algorithm codes.
Such issues are difficult to inspect and/or analyze without having access to the
original sensor data. However, the transmission of the sensor data from the

wireless device to the external unit is usually impractical, because it would
multiply the amount of data to be transmitted over the wireless communication
link. Thus, it would also decimate the battery life of the wireless device.
SUMMARY
An objective of the invention is to present a method, a network node, and a
systemfortriggering a transmission of sensor data from a wireless device
comprising at least one accelerometer. Another objective of the invention is
that the method,the network node, and the systemfortriggering a transmission
of sensor data from a wireless device comprising at least one
accelerometerenable an on-demand access to sensor data of a wireless
device.
The objectives of the invention are reached by a method, a network node, and
a system as defined by the respective independent claims.
According to a first aspect, a method for triggering a transmission of sensor
data from a wireless device comprising at least one accelerometer is provided,
wherein the wireless device is arranged to an automatic door, wherein the
method comprises: receiving from the wireless device data processed from the
sensor data; analyzing the received data processed from the sensor data; and
generating a control signal to the wireless device in response to a detection of
a predefined event, wherein the control signal comprises at least a request to
the wireless device to trigger the transmission of sensor data.
The control signal may further comprise at least one parameter for selecting
sensor data to be transmitted, wherein the parameter may be at least one of
the following: period of time, amount of data.
Furthermore, the predefined event may be at least one of the following:
anomaly in the data processed from the sensor data, defect in the data
processed from the sensor data, predefined time scheme, received command
signal, error in the algorithm for processing the sensor data.
The data processed from the sensor data may be received continuously or
according to a predefined time scheme.
The method may further comprise receiving the sensor data transmitted from
the wireless device for further processing and/or storing.

According to a second aspect, a network node for triggering a transmission of
sensor data from a wireless device comprising at least one accelerometer is
provided, wherein the wireless device is arranged to an automatic door,
wherein the network node comprising: one or more processors, and one or
more memories for storing at least one portion of computer program code, the
one or more processors is configured to cause the network node at least to
perform: receive from the wireless device data processed from the sensor
data; analyze the received data processed from the sensor data; and generate
a control signal to the wireless device in response to a detection of a
predefined event, wherein the control signal comprises at least a request to the
wireless device to trigger the transmission of sensor data.
The control signal may further comprise at least one parameter for selecting
sensor data to be transmitted, wherein the parameter may be at least one of
the following: period of time, amount of data.
Furthermore, the predefined event may be at least one of the following:
anomaly in the data processed from the sensor data, defect in the data
processed from the sensor data, predefined time scheme, received command
signal.
The network node may be configured to receive the data processed from the
sensor data continuously or according to a predefined time scheme.
The network node may be further configured to receive the sensor data
transmitted from the wireless device for further processing and/or storing.
According to a third aspect.a system for triggering a transmission of sensor
data from a wireless device comprising at least one accelerometeris provided,
wherein the wireless device is arranged to an automatic door, wherein the
system comprises:one or more wireless devices, and a network node
configured to:receive from the wireless device data processed from the sensor
data; analyze the received data processed from the sensor data; and generate
a control signal to the wireless device in response to a detection of a
predefined event, wherein the control signal comprises at least a request to the
wireless device to trigger the transmission of sensor data, wherein the network
node and the one or more wireless devices are communicatively coupled to
each other.

The exemplary embodiments of the invention presented in this patent
application are not to be interpreted to pose limitations to the applicability of
the appended claims. The verb "to comprise" is used in this patent application
as an open limitation that does not exclude the existence of also un-recited
features. The features recited in depending claims are mutually freely
combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are
set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,
both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional
objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following
description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not
by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1illustrates schematicallyan example of the system according to the
invention.
Figure 2 illustrates schematically an example of the wireless device according
to the invention.
Figure 3 illustrates schematically an example of the method according to the
invention.
Figure 4 illustrates schematically an example of the network node according to
the invention.
Figure 5 illustrates schematically an example of an accelerometer of the
wireless device according to the invention.
Figure 6 illustrates schematically an example of a control unit of the wireless
device according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 illustrates schematically an example of a system 100, wherein the
embodiments of the invention may be implemented as will be described.A

system 100 according to the invention comprises a network node 102 and one
or more wireless devices 104.The network node 102 and the one or more
wireless device are communicatively coupled to each other as will be
described later. Figure 1 illustrates an example system comprising two
wireless devices 104a, 104b, but the system may comprise any number of
wireless devices suitable for the system according to the invention. The
wireless device 104 may be implemented in any automatic door environment.
Some examples of implementation environments are at least the following:
elevator environment, building environment. In the example system illustrated
in Figure 1 the first wireless device 104a is arranged to an automatic door
106a of an elevator car 108 and the second wireless device 104b is arranged
to an automatic door 106b of a building. The system according to the invention
may comprise wireless devices attached to automatic doors residing in the
same building and/or a difference building.
A wireless device 104 may be arranged to an automatic door for obtaining
acceleration information of the automatic door. Figure 2 schematically
illustrates a simple example of a wireless device 104 according to the
invention. The wireless device 104 comprises an accelerometer 202, a control
unit 204, an energy storage 206. The energy storage 206, such as a battery, is
configured to provide operating power for the wireless device 104. The
accelerometer 202 and the control unit 204 of the wireless device 104 are
described more in detail later in this application.
The wireless device 104 may be fixed to the automatic door, for example to
any moving part of the automatic door, by any known fixing means. Some non-
limiting examples of the fixing means may be at least one of the following:
screw, bolt, tape, cable tie, hook-and-loop fastener. The moving part of the
automatic door to which the device may be fixed, may be for example, door
panel or hanger plate. The accelerometer202 in the context of this application
refers to any sensor suitable for detect physical acceleration.
The accelerometer 202 of the wireless device 104may be configured to obtain
sensor data, i.e. raw data, representing acceleration of the automatic door. In
the context of this application the sensor data, i.e. raw data, means
measurement data that is not processed. In the context of this application the
amplification of the sensor data, conversion of a physical quantity of the sensor
data to another physical quantity and/or manner of representation of the

sensor data are not considered to be processing of data. For example, a
conversion of a measured capacitance value to a voltage or current value is
not considered to be processing. The sensor data representing the
acceleration may be for example, magnitude of the acceleration, direction of
the acceleration as a vector quantity, vibration, shock. The control unit
204and/or the accelerometer 202 of the wireless device 104 may be
configured to store the obtained sensor data in the at least one memory of the
control unit 204 of the wireless device 104or in the buffer of the accelerometer
202 of the wireless device 104. Furthermore, a processor of the control unit
204 of the wireless device 104 is configured to process the obtained sensor
data. The processing of the sensor data may comprise for example calibration,
filtering, converting, scaling, deducting, averaging, differentiating, integrating,
etc.The processing of the sensor data may be considered as a process,
wherein one signal is input into a device and another signal is output from the
device so that the signal itself is processed. The wireless device 104 is further
configured to transmit the data processed from the sensor data to a network
node 102. The wireless device 104 may transmit the data processed from the
sensor data continuously or according to a predefined time scheme. The data
transmission according to a predefined time scheme means that the data is not
communicated from the wireless device 104 to network node 102 continuously.
Instead the data may be transmitted at a time instant, which the control unit
204 of the wireless device 104 defines to be suitable for the transmission. A
suitable time instant may be for example one of the following: regular time
interval, irregular time interval, when no data is communicated from the
accelerometer 202 to the control unit 204.Transmitting the information from the
, wireless device 104 to the network node 102 according to the predefined time
scheme enables reducingpower consumption of the wireless device 104 and
longer battery life of the wireless device 104.
The wireless device 104 is configured to transmit data over a wireless
communication link to the network node 102. The wireless communication
between the wireless device 104 and the network node 102 may be based on
for example at least one of the following wireless communication technologies:
Bluetooth, WiFi, Cellular network, Zigbee, Lora, ANT. The transmission of data
over the wireless communication link consumes substantially considerable
amount of power. Thus, the wireless device 104 is configured to transmit the
data processed from the sensor data in order to reduce the amount of data

that is required to be transmitted over the wireless communication link. This
reduces at least partly the power consumption of the wireless device 104.
Furthermore, it enables longer battery life.
However, at the side of the network node 102 there may be further a need to
get access to the sensor data instead of the data processed from the sensor
data,for example in response to a detection of a predefined event. In some
cases the access to the sensor data would be useful, for example
fordevelopers. Furthermore, such events are difficult to inspect and/or analyze
without having access to the original sensor data. The predefined event may
be for example at least one of the following: anomaly in the data processed
from the sensor data, defectin the data processed from the sensor data,
predefined time scheme, received command signal,errors in the algorithm for
processing the sensor data. The command signal may be received, for
example from a service center, a maintenance person, etc. The predefined
time scheme may be a scheme comprising predefined time instants at which
time sensor data may be required.
The method according to the invention enables triggering a transmission of
sensor data from a wireless device. Next an example of a method according to
the invention is described by referring to Figure 3. Figure 3 schematically
illustrates the invention as a flow chart. As described the network node
102receives 302from the wireless device104 data processed from the sensor
data. The data processed from the sensor data may be received continuously
or according to a predefined time scheme as described above. The network
node 102 analyses 304 the received data processed from the sensor data. In
response that the network node 102 detects 306 a predefined event described
above, the network node 102 generates308 a control signal to the wireless
device 104.-The control signal may comprise at least a request to the wireless
device to trigger the transmission of the sensor data.Additionally, the network
node 102 may further receive 310 the sensor data transmitted from the
wireless device 104 for further processing and/or storing. The further
processing and/or storing may comprise solving the reason for the anomaly in
the data processed from the sensor data or defectin the data processed from
the sensor data etc. Alternatively or in addition, after receiving the sensor data
transmitted from the wireless device 104 the network node 102 may continue
receiving data processed from the sensor datafrom the wireless device104 and
further analyzing the received data as described in the context of the steps 302

and 304. Similarly, if the network node 102 does not detect a predefined event
at the step 306, the network node 102 may continue performing the steps 302
and 304.
The control signal may comprise only arequest to the wireless device to trigger
the transmission of the sensor data. In this case the transmission of sensor
data from the wireless device 104 is triggered in response to receiving the
control signal. The network node 102 may further generate a second control
signal to the wireless device 104 in response that the network node 102
detects 306 another predefined event. The second control signal may
comprise at least a request to the wireless device 104 to end the transmission
of the sensor data.
In addition, the control signal may further comprise at least one parameter for
selecting sensor data to be transmitted. The parameter may be at least one of
the following: period of time, amount of data. The period of time may be any
period of time beforegeneration of the control signal. Alternatively or in
addition, the period of time may be any period of time after generation of the
control signal. If the control signal comprises certain period of time as a
parameter, the wireless device 104 is requested to trigger the transmission of
the sensor data obtained by the accelerometer during said period of time. The
period of time may comprise a starting time stamp together with an ending time
stamp or duration of the period. Alternatively, the period of the time may
comprise only the duration of the period, when the wireless device 104 is
requested to transmit the sensor data starting from reception of the control
signalduring said period of time. Similarly, if the control signalcomprises certain
amount of data as a parameter, the wireless device 104 is requested to trigger
the transmission of the sensor data obtained by the accelerometer of the
wireless device 104 during said amount of data. Alternatively or in addition, the
control signal may comprise a starting time stamp together with the amount of
data to be transmitted.
Alternatively, the request may be implemented as the at least one parameter
for selecting sensor data to be transmitted. This means that in response to
receiving the at least one parameter, the wireless device is requested to trigger
the transmission of the sensor data obtained by the accelerometer of the
wireless device according to the received at least one parameter.

The control signal may further comprise an identification code of the wireless
device 104 to which the control signal is addressed. The identification code
may be for example a unique identifier, an address, etc. The identification code
may be used especially in a system comprising more than one wireless device
104.
After the wireless device 104 is configured .to end the transmission of the
sensor data, the wireless device is configured to enter back into normal
operation of the wireless device, i.e. transmission of data processed from the
sensor data.
Preferably, the period of time of the transmission of sensor data and/or the
amount of transmitted sensor data from the one or more wireless devices 104
may be substantially limited, i.e. short time or small amount of data, in
comparison to the transmission time and/or amount of data processed from the
sensor data. This enables an effective way to gather sensor data from one or
more wireless devices only, because the sensor data may be transmitted only
when necessary. Moreover, the on-demand transmission of the sensor data
enables that the transmission of the sensor data does not increase
substantially the power consumption of the wireless device and thus not
reduce substantially battery life of the wireless device.
Figure 4 illustrates schematically an example of the network node 102
according to the invention. The network node 102 may be for example one of
the following: external server, remote server, database server, mobile server,
cloud server. The network node 102 may comprise one or more processors
402, one or more memories 404, communication interface 406, and user
interface 408. The mentioned elements may be communicatively coupled to
each other with e.g. an internal bus. The memory 404 is configured to store at
least one portion of computer program code 405a-405n and any data values.
The memory 404 is not limited to a certain type of memory only, but any
memory type suitable for storing the described pieces of information may be
applied in the context of the invention. The communication interface 406
enables the network node 102 to communicate with any external unit, such as
wireless devices 104, other network nodes, database, and/orother systems.
The communication interface 406 of the network node 102 may be based on
one or more known communication technologies, either wired or wireless,in
order to exchange pieces of information as described earlier.

The network node 102 may further comprise input means 410 and/or output
means 412. The input means 410 may comprise any known mechanism for
inputting information to the network node 102. Some examples of input means
410 may be for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen and/or a pen,
etc. The output means 412, in turn, may comprise any known mechanism for
outputting information. Some examples of the output means 412 may be for
example a display, printer, and/or speaker, etc. Alternatively or in addition, the
input means 410 and/or output means 412 may be coupled to the network
node 102 via the communication interface 406 either with some known wired
or wireless manner.
The one or more processor 402of the network node 102is at least configured
to implement at least some method steps as described above. The
implementation of the method may be achieved by arranging the one or more
processors 403 to execute at least some portion of computer program code
405a-405n stored in the one or more memories 404 causing the one or more
processors 402, and thus the network node 102, to implement one or more
method steps as described above. The one or more processors 402are thus
arranged to access the one or more memories404 and retrieve and store any
information therefrom and thereto. Moreover, the one or more processors402
are configured to control the communication through the communication
interface 406 with any external unit, such as with a wireless device 104. For
sake of clarity, the processor herein refers to any unit suitable for processing
information and control the operation of the network node 102, among other
tasks. The operations may also be implemented with a microcontroller solution
with embedded software.
As said, Figure 4 illustrates an example of the network node 102 according to
the invention. All implementation of the network node 102 do not comprise all
of the elements disclosed in Figure 4. Alternatively, some implementation of
the network node 102 may comprise some further elements.
Figure 5 illustrates schematically an example of the accelerometer202 of the
wireless device according to the invention. The accelerometer202 may
comprise at least one processor 502, a communication interface 506,at least
one internal buffer 504, a user interface 508, and sensor relating devices 510.
The mentioned elements may be communicatively coupled to each other with
e.g. an internal bus. The sensor related devices 510 may comprise, but are not

limited to, one or more components for obtaining sensor data representing the
acceleration of the automatic door. The communication interface506 may
provide interface for communication with any external unit, such as with a
control 204 unit of the wireless device 104, in order to exchange pieces of
information as described. The one or more internal buffers 504 may be
configured to store any data. The at least one processor 502 of the
accelerometer may be configured to at least control the operation of the
accelerometer 202
As described the wireless device 102 comprises further a control unit 204 at
least configured to control at least some of the operation of the wireless device
104. Figure 6 illustrates schematically an example of the control unit 204 of the
wireless device 104 according to the invention. The control unit 204 comprises
at least one processor 602 and at least one memory 604 for storing at least
one portion of computer program code 605a-605n and any data values.
Furthermore, the control unit 204 of the wireless device 104 may comprise a
communication interface 606 in order to provide interface for communication
with any external unit, such as accelerometer 202, database and/orexternal
systems, such as network node 102 in order to exchange pieces of information
as described. The communication interface may be based on one or more
known communication technologies, either wired or wireless, in order to
exchange pieces of information as described earlier. Furthermore, the control
unit 204 of the wireless device 104 may comprise a user interface 608. The
mentioned elements may be communicatively coupled to each other with e.g.
an internal bus. For sake of clarity, the processor herein refers to any unit
suitable for processing information and control the operation of the control unit
204 of the wireless device 104, among other tasks. The operations may also
be implemented with a microcontroller solution with embedded software.
Similarly, the memory is not limited to a certain type of memory only, but any
memory type suitable for storing the described pieces of information may be
applied in the context of the present invention.
The processor 602 of the control unit 204 of the wireless device104 is at least
configured to implement at least some operations of the control unit 204of the
wireless device 104 as described. The implementation of the operations of the
control unit204 of the wireless device104 may be achieved by arranging the
processor 602 to execute at least some portion of computer program code
605a-605n stored in the memory causing the processor 602, and thus the

control unit204 of the wireless device 104, to implement one or more
operations of the control unit204 of the wireless device 104. The processor
602 is thus arranged to access the memory 604 and retrieve and store any
information therefrom and thereto. Moreover, the processor 602 is configured
to control the communication through the communication interface 606 with
any external unit, such as witha network node 102.According to one
embodiment of the invention the control unit 204 may be implemented as a
system-on-a-chip, SOC. SOC herein refers to an integrated circuit that
integrates all components of the system into a single chip. One advantage of
implementing the control unit as a SOC is low power consumption.
Above it is described that the wireless device 104 may transmit the sensor
data and/or the data processed from the sensor data directly to the network
node. Alternatively, the wireless device 104 may transmit the sensor data
and/orthe data processed from the sensor data through a gate way device or
another network node to the network node 102. Similarly, the control signal
generated by the network node 102 may be transmitted to one or more
wireless devices 104 directly or through a gate way device or another network
node.
The above described method, network node, and system enables an effective
way to gather sensor data from one or more wireless devices. Thus, also the
analysis of the sensor data may be enabled at the network node.Furthermore,
the invention enables a flexible on-demand access to sensor data of one or
more wireless devices without compromising battery life of the wireless device.
The specific examples provided in the description given above should not be
construed as limiting the applicability and/orthe interpretation of the appended
claims. Lists and groups of examples provided in the description given above
are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.

CLAIMS
1. A method for triggeringa transmission ofsensor data from a wireless
device (104) comprising at least one accelerometer (202), wherein the wireless
device (104) is arranged toan automatic door (106a, 106b), wherein the
method comprises:
- receiving (302)from the wireless device(104) data processed from the sensor
data;
- analyzing (304) the received data processed from the sensor data;and
- generating (308) a control signalto the wireless device (104) in response to a
detection (306) of a predefined event, wherein the control signal comprises at
least a request to the wireless device to trigger thetransmission of sensor data.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal comprises
further at least one parameter for selecting sensor data to be transmitted,
wherein the parameter is at least one of the following: period of time, amount
of data.
3. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the
predefined event is at least one of the following: anomaly in the data
processed from the sensor data, defectin the data processed from the sensor
data, predefined time scheme, received command signal, error in the algorithm.
for processing the sensor data.
4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the data
processed from the sensor data is received continuously or according to a
predefined time scheme.

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the
method further comprisingreceiving (310) the sensor data transmitted from the
wireless device for further processing and/or storing.
6. A network node (102) for triggering a transmission of sensor data from a
wireless device (104) comprising at least one accelerometer (202), wherein the
wireless device (104) is arranged to an automatic door (106a, 106b),
whereinthe network node (102)comprising:

- one or more processors (402), and
- one or more memories (404) for storing at least one portion of computer
program code (405a-405n), the one or more processors (402)is configured to
cause the network node (102) at least to perform:

- receive (302) from the wireless device (104) data processed from the
sensor data;
- analyze (304) the received data processed from the sensor data;and
- generate (308) a control signal to the wireless device (104) in response
to a detection (306) of a predefined event, wherein the control signal
comprises at least a request to the wireless device (104) to trigger the
transmission of sensor data.

7. The network node (102) according to claim 6, wherein the control signal
comprises further at least one parameter for selecting sensor data to be
transmitted, wherein the parameter is at least one of the following: period of
time, amount of data.
8. The network node (102) according to any of claims 6 or 7, whereinthe
predefined event is at least one of the following: anomalyin the data processed
from the sensor data, defectin the data processed from the sensor data,
predefined time scheme, received command signal.
9. The network node (102) according to any of claims 6-8, wherein the
network node (102) is configured to receive the data processed from the
sensor data continuously or according to a predefined time scheme.
10. The network node (102) according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the
network node (102) is further configured to receive(310) the sensor data
transmitted from the wireless device for further processing and/or storing.
11. A system (100) for triggering a transmission of sensor data from a
wireless device (104)comprising at least one accelerometer (202), wherein the
wireless device (104) is arranged to an automatic door (106a, 106b), wherein
the system (100) comprises:
- one or more wireless devices (104), and

- anetwork node (102)configured to:
- receive (302)from the wireless device (104) data processed from the
sensor data;
- analyze (304) the received data processed from the sensor data;and
- generate (308) a control signal to the wireless device (104) in response
to a detection (306) of a predefined event, wherein the control signal
comprises at least a request to the wireless device (104) to trigger the
transmission of sensor data,
wherein the network node(102) and the one or more wireless devices (104)
are communicatively coupled to each other.