GB2376115A

GB2376115A - Indicator driven by wireless link from computer

Info

Publication number: GB2376115A
Application number: GB0112914A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard George Hoptroff
Original assignee: ALIEN DOG STAR INVEST Ltd; SARL HOPTROFF
Current assignee: ALIEN DOG STAR INVEST Ltd; SARL HOPTROFF
Priority date: 2001-05-29
Filing date: 2001-05-29
Publication date: 2002-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 2021-05-29
Also published as: GB2376115B; GB0112914D0

Abstract

A standalone indicating device 4 such as a dial or meter has its indication dictated by a separate computer 1 via a wireless link. The wireless link is unidirectional, i.e. it is comprised only of a wireless signal emitter 2 at the computer and a corresponding receiver 3 at the indicating device. This reduces the power requirements of the indicating device.

Description

INDICATOR DRIVEN BY WIRELESS LINK TO COMPUTER This invention relates to a standalone indicating device such as a dial or meter whose indication is dictated by a separate computer via a wireless link. The wireless link is unidirectional, i. e. it is comprised only of a wireless signal emitter at the computer and a corresponding receiver at the indicating device. This reduces the power requirements of the indicating device.

Free-standing indicating devices such as clocks, thermometers and barometers are commonplace instruments. Much of their success is due to the fact that they are compact and autonomous, ie. they require no electrical or mechanical connection provide information or power. This autonomy allows easy installation, for example on a wall, shelf or mantel However, it also limits the variety of available instruments: * Limited battery power precludes the possibility of complex calculations such as those required to predict tides or planetary positions.

* The indication is limited to information available at the device such as time, temperature or information from broadcast radio services, such as the Rugby MSF radio signal or GPS signals.

* The instrument is difficult to reconfigure in order to display alternative information.

The present invention retains the compact and autonomous nature of such devices while extending their versatility by connecting the device to a computer such as a microcontroller or a conventional"PC"via a simple wireless link. The invention retains the low-power autonomous features of the indicator while exploiting the computational power, versatility and connectivity of the computer.

As shown in figure 1, a computer (1) determines the desired indication of the indicator. The computer may be connected to power sources such as the mains supply and may also be connected to information sources such as the internet. The desired indication is then transmitted via a wireless transmitter (2). The transmitted signal is received by a receiver (3) in the autonomous indicator. The indicator (4) then decodes the signal and configures its display appropriately.

The software on the computer is deliberately configured to transmit information appropriate to the specific devices expected to be within range of the transmitting device.

It is not possible for the computer to know whether the signal has reached its intended recipient. However, the indicating device may indicate that it is not receiving an appropriate signal. A single computer and transmitting device may serve several indicating devices of different natures.

Possible indications of the device include: 1. Current climatic conditions, possibly in different locations, including temperature, dew-point, pressure, humidity, cloud cover and ceiling, wind strength and direction, precipitation and visibility.

2. Forecast climatic conditions.

3. Times in different time zones.

4. Day, date, month and year.

5. The date in any calendar such as Jewish, Mayan or Islamic.

6. Astrological data such as zodiacal signs, the Chinese year and planetary charts.

7. A calendar relating the days of the week to date in the month.

8. Appointment, birthday, anniversary, rubbish collection day or other reminder.

9. Religious holiday indication.

10. The time of rising or setting or transit of the sun, moon or other heavenly body or constellation.

11. Moon phase.

12. The position of a heavenly body above the earth or on the celestial sphere.

13. Heliocentric or terracentric depiction of the solar system 14. The geographic location or altitude of the device or some other object.

15. Expected shooting star or cometary activity.

16. Sunspot or solar flare activity.

17. Solar and lunar eclipses.

18. Equinoxes and solstices.

19. Time of high or low tide.

20. Tide height forecasts.

21. The direction of North or other compass direction, magnetic or true.

22. Speed of travel.

23. Status of a device or machine-fuel or power remaining, water or cylinder temperature.

24. An emotional or mental state such as awake, asleep, happy or angry, etc.

25. A physical state such as voltage, current, magnetic strength or direction, etc.

26. Alerts and warnings such as low power, oil level, wake-up call or unpaid bills.

27. Time remaining until or time since the occurrence of an event.

28. Messages received including telephone, fax, email and pager messages.

29. Number of unread messages waiting.

30. Financial and market information such as interest rates, portfolio valuations, stock prices, trading volumes and related technical statistics of stock, financial indices, bonds, currencies, commodities and funds.

31. Entertainment of an electro-mechanical nature such as a mechanical puppet show, a roulette wheel dice throw or tarot or I Ching prediction.

32. Entertainment of general media such as audio and video information.

33. Polygraph (lie detection) indication.

34. The time of an event such as an alarm time.

35. New headline summaries.

36. Sports results.

37. Current time and date as perceived by an observer in a different relativistic frame.

38. Sidereal time.

39. Orientation of the celestial sphere.

40. State of health of a person or other living being including temperature, pulse rate, breathing rate and blood pressure.

41. Textual information such as SMS (short messaging service), pager and email messages or an excerpt from a book, a proverb or a joke.

42. Graphical information such as a daily selection of a picture from an image store.

43. Elliptic orbit cycles such as phase of the annalema, perihelion/aphelion and perigee/apogee.

44. Event repetition counters.

Possible indication methods include: 1. Display by a pointer on a dial 2. Display as a numeric or alphanumeric display 3. Depiction as a chart or graph 4. Audible indication such as a tone, speech or tune 5. Emission of a smell 6. Depiction by an image or sequence of images 7. Rendition suitable for tactile sensation such as a Braille message Possible wireless link technologies include: 1. Electromagnetic waves such as radio, microwave, infra red or light signals 2. Acoustic waves such as ultrasound signals The computer may determine the desired indication in a standalone manner or it may refer to a variety of sources including: 1. Other computers, devices or sensors connected directly to it.

2. Computers, devices or sensors connected via a local or wide area network.

3. Computers, devices or sensors connected via a telephone link.

4. Computers, devices or sensors connected via an internet connection.

5. Broadcast audio or video services.

A preferred embodiment will now be described which allows a user to monitor the forecast for the next day's weather and the valuation of his or her investment portfolio.

As shown in figure 2, computer software (5) on a personal computer (6) uses internet services (7) to obtain the necessary information in order to determine the required indications, ie. the weather forecast and the portfolio valuation. Once per second, the data for one of the indications are alternately encoded as a data packet and sent to the computer's serial port (8). The data packet comprises an identifier unique to the appropriate indicating device and the required indication.

A small device (9) attached to the computer's serial port (8) contains a microcontroller (10) and a radio transmitter (11). The microcontroller encodes the data packet in a suitable form for radio transmission and drives the transmitter to emit the appropriate signal.

The sum effect of the apparatus shown in figure 2 is to determine the appropriate indication for the two indicators and to emit this information as data packets encoded

in a radio signal. The data for the two indications are transmitted o1temately and repeatedly, once per second.

In the preferred embodiment, two free-standing receiving devices are used, one to indicate the weather forecast and one to indicate the portfolio valuation. Figure 3 shows one such device (17). A radio receiver (12) which picks up the signals emitted by the transmitter (11) and conveys them to a microcontroller (13). The microcontroller decodes each signal and determines whether its unique identifier corresponds to its own and thus whether the signal is intended for it. If it is, the microcontoller drives a stepper motor (14) connected to a pointer (15) on the indicating dial (16).

The sum effect ofthr lpparatus in figure 3 is to receive and decode the signals emitted be the appar AS in figure 2 and to convert them into the required indication.

For the present invention, two sets of apparatus as shown in figure 3 would be required, one for indicating the weather forecast and one for indicating the portfolio valuation. An alternative embodiment is shown in figure 4, where a single device has two dials (16,19), pointers (15,18) and stepper motors (14,17). The stepper motors can be driven by a single radio receiver (12) and microcontroller (13).

The indicating devices shown in figures 3 and 4 send no acknowledgement signal back to the computer. They may, indeed, not always receive the signal. For example, they may be configured to wake from a low-power"sleep state"once per minute, wait for an appropriate signal and adjust their indication as appropriate, and then return to the sleep state.

Claims

1. A device comprising a wireless transmitter connected to a computer and one or more unit containing wireless receivers and indicators and where the indications displayed by the indicators are purposefully dictated by the computer by means of the wireless transmitter and receivers.

2. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the wireless receiver can enter a low-power state during which time it does not respond to transmissions intended for it.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 where the wireless receiving and indicating units do not require mechanical or electrical connections to provide a source of power.

3. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the wireless receiving and indicating units do not require mechanical or electrical connections in order to provide a source of information for the indicators.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer driving the wireless transmitter is specifically configured to transmit signals appropriate to the specific receiving and indicating units expected to be within range of the wireless transmitter.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the wireless link between transmitter and receivers is electromagnetic.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the wireless link between transmitter and receivers is acoustic.

7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer is a microcontroller.

8. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer is an 'TBM PC"type of personal computer.

9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer operates using the Microsoft Windows operating system 10. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer operates using the Microsoft Windows CE operating system.

11. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer operates using the Apple Mac-OS operating system 12. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication without needing to communicate with any other device.

13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication by monitoring the state of a sensor to which it has access.

14. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication by monitoring broadcast radio or video services.

15. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication through communication with other computers, devices or sensors over the telephone network.

16. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication through communication with other computers, devices or sensors over a local or wide area network 17. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the computer determines the desired indication through communication with other computers, devices or sensors over the internet.

18. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the wireless receiver can enter a low-power state during which time it does not respond to transmissions intended for it.

19. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator is a pointer on a dial.

20. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator is a numeric or alphanumeric display.

21. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator depicts a chart or graph.

22. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator is an audio signal.

23. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator emits a smell.

24. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator depicts an image or sequence of images.

25. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indicator provides a rendition suitable for tactile sensation.

26. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates climatic conditions.

27. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the current local time a location.

28. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the day or date in any calendar system 29. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates astrological information.

30. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates a calendar relating days of the week to corresponding days in the month.

31. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is a reminder.

32. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the occurrence of religious holidays.

33. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the time of rising, transit or setting of a heavenly body or constellation.

34. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the phase of the moon.

35. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the position of a heavenly body above the earth or in the celestial sphere.

36. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication depicts the solar system 37. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the geographic location or altitude.

38. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates expected shooting star or cometary activity.

39. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates sunspot or solar flare activity.

40. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates eclipse events.

41. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates solstice or equinox events.

42. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication provides tide information.

43. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates a direction.

44. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates speed or velocity.

45. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the status of a machine or device.

46. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates a physical state.

47. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates an emotional or mental state.

48. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is an alert or warning.

49. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates time remaining until an event or time elapsed since an event.

50. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication displays messages received.

51. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates a count of messages.

52. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates financial or market information.

53. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication provides entertainment or instruction.

54. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication provides video entertainment or instruction.

55. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication provides audio entertainment or instruction.

56. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is an image providing entertainment or instruction.

57. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication provides electro-mechanical entertainment or instruction.

58. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is a smell providing entertainment or instruction.

59. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is text providing entertainment or instruction.

60. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is a Braille representation of text providing entertainment or instruction.

61. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication is a polygraph or lie-detection indication.

62. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the time of an event.

63. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates news information.

64. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates sports information.

65. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates time and date as perceived by an observer in a different relativistic frame.

66. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates sidereal time.

67. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the orientation of the celestial sphere.

68. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates state of health.

69. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates the state of an orbital cycle.

70. A device as claimed in any preceding claim where the indication indicates a count of repetitions of an event.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A device comprising a wireless transmitter connected to a computer and separate unit containing a wireless receiver and a pointer on a dial which displays the transmitted data.