US 6,832,251 · Granted 2004-12-14
The Wireless Sensor Network That Turns Buildings Into Smart Observers
Imagine tiny computers with built-in sensors that can talk to each other wirelessly and make decisions without needing constant human input. This patent describes networks of these smart nodes that can monitor and control everything from machinery in factories to the structural health of buildings — all working together with minimal power.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a distributed system of compact wireless sensor nodes that combine microsensors, local signal processing, low-power computation, and wireless networking in a single integrated package. What's protected here is the specific architecture of how these nodes sense data, process it locally, communicate wirelessly with each other, and allow remote reconfiguration — essentially the blueprint for creating self-aware sensor networks embedded in real-world infrastructure.
Why it matters
This patent captures an early vision of the Internet of Things: machines and environments that monitor themselves without human operators constantly watching. Filed in 2000 and granted in 2004, it staked out intellectual property on a foundational idea at a time when embedding intelligence into physical infrastructure was still largely theoretical. The patent's scope across transportation, manufacturing, health care, and environmental monitoring reflects how broadly applicable distributed sensing networks could be.
Real-world use
Every modern smart building that monitors temperature, vibration, and structural stress through wireless sensor nodes draws on concepts pioneered by this patent; factories using embedded sensors to predict equipment failure operate on similar distributed processing principles.
Original USPTO abstract
The Wireless Integrated Network Sensor Next Generation (WINS NG) nodes provide distributed network and Internet access to sensors, controls, and processors that are deeply embedded in equipment, facilities, and the environment. The WINS NG network is a new monitoring and control capability for applications in transportation, manufacturing, health care, environmental monitoring, and safety and security. The WINS NG nodes combine microsensor technology, low power distributed signal processing, low power computation, and low power, low cost wireless and/or wired networking capability in a compact system. The WINS NG networks provide sensing, local control, remote reconfigurability, and embedded intelligent systems in structures, materials, and environments.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,832,251
- Filing date
- 2000-10-04
- Grant date
- 2004-12-14
- Assignee
- Sensoria Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- GELVIN DAVID C., GIROD LEWIS D., KAISER WILLIAM J., MERRILL WILLIAM M., NEWBERG FREDRIC, POTTIE GREGORY J., SIPOS ANTON I., VARDHAN SANDEEP
- CPC class
- B60R25/1004
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