Normalization of data originating from endpoints within low power wide area networks (LPWANs)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10575250-B2
Application number	US-201715844087-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2017
Priority date	Dec 15, 2016
Publication date	Feb 25, 2020
Grant date	Feb 25, 2020

Abstract

The normalization of data originating from endpoints within low power wide area networks (LPWANs) is contemplated. The normalization may be beneficial to facilitate normalizing data when collected and/or communicated according to disparate protocols, languages, formats, syntaxes, structures, etc. of the endpoints and/or the LPWANs so as to enable commonization of the data prior to being interfaced with applications or other entities intending to make use thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for normalizing data for a plurality of sensors wirelessly broadcasting the data to a plurality of low power wide area networks (LPWANs), the method comprising:
receiving the data (dataE) from the LPWANS according to disparate data formats, the disparate data formats characterized by some of the plurality of sensors formatting a measurement differently from some of the other of the plurality of sensors;
normalizing the dataE to data having a common data format (dataC), the common data format characterized by the measurement being formatted the same for each of the plurality of sensors;
making the dataC available to an application for processing;
receiving the dataE, normalizing the dataE and making the dataC available with an LPWAN abstraction layer (LPWAL), including receiving the dataE without the plurality of sensors having to undergo synchronization or other exchange with the LPWANS prior to the dataE being communicated thereover;
normalizing the dataE according to translation information provided to the LPWAL from an application vendor associated with the application; and
determining mapping instructions from the translation information, the mapping instructions being sufficient to map a language-dependent format of the dataE to a language-independent format of the dataC, the translation information being determined from a cross-reference with an appID included with the dataE, the appID being a shared secret between the application vendor and the LPWAL to cross-reference the translation information associated therewith, the appID being different than a globally unique appEUI associated with the application.

2. The method claim 1 further comprising the mapping instructions being sufficient to map a non-JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format of the dataE to a JSON format of the dataC.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving the dataE with the LPWAN following communication from at least one gateway and at least one network server, the least one gateway and the least one network server being associated with a first LPWAN of the one or more LPWANs, the at least one gateway operating independently of the least one network server to facilitate forwarding the dataE to the at least one network server following receipt from the first endpoint.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising normalizing the dataE by mapping raw data included therein as the measurement to a predefined, text-based syntax of the dataC.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising making the raw data available to the application such that the application independently receives both of the dataC and the raw data.

6. A method for normalizing data for a plurality of endpoints associated with one or more low power wide area networks (LPWANs), the method comprising:
receiving a plurality of application global identifiers (appEUI) for a plurality of applications;
cross-referencing at least one of a plurality of application identifiers (appIDs) with each of the plurality of appEUIs, each of the plurality of appIDs being different than each of the plurality of appEUIs;
cross-referencing translation information with each of the plurality of appIDs, the translation information including instructions sufficient for mapping data originating from the endpoints (dataE) having dissimilar formats to data having a common data format (dataC) utilized by one or more of the plurality of applications associated therewith, including receiving the dataE without the endpoints having to undergo synchronization or other exchange with the LPWANS prior to the dataE being communicated thereover;
receiving a first message from a first endpoint of the plurality of endpoints, the first message including dataE and a first appID of the plurality of appIDs;
determining first translation information of the translation information to be cross-referenced with the first appID; and
transmitting a second message to a first application of the plurality of applications, the first application being associated with the first appEUI, the second message including the first appEUI and dataC derived from normalizing the dataE within the first message according to the first translation information.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
receiving a third message from a second endpoint of the plurality of endpoints, the third message including dataE and the first appID; and
transmitting a fourth message to the first application, the fourth message including the first appEUI and dataC derived from normalizing the dataE within the second message according to the first translation information.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
receiving a plurality of device identifiers (deviceIDs) for the plurality of endpoints;
associating subsets of the first translation information with the plurality of deviceIDs;
receiving a third message from the first endpoint, the third message including dataE, the first appID and a first deviceID of the plurality of device identifiers, the first deviceID being associated with the first endpoint; and
transmitting a fourth message to the first application, the fourth message including the first appEUI and dataC derived from normalizing the dataE within the third message according to a first subset of the subsets of the first translation information.

9. The method claim 8 further comprising:
receiving a fifth message from a second endpoint of the plurality of endpoints, the fifth message including dataE and the first appID;
determining a second subset of the subsets of the first translation information to be associated with a second deviceID and the first appID, the second deviceID being associated with the second endpoint, the second subset being different from the first subset such that the second subset maps dataE to dataC differently than the first subset; and
transmitting a sixth message to the first application, the sixth message including the first appID and dataC derived from normalizing the dataE within the fifth message according to the second subset, the dataC of the second message and the sixth message being identically formatted.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
receiving a seventh message from the first endpoint, the seventh message including dataE and a second appID of the plurality of appIDs;
determining third translation information of the translation information to be associated with the second appID, the second appID being associated with the second appEUI; and
transmitting an eighth message to a second application of the plurality of applications, the second application being associated with the second appEUI, the seventh message including the second appEUI and dataC derived from normalizing the dataE within the seventh message according to the third translation information.

11. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
transmitting an application ID message to a vendor of the first endpoint, the application ID message indicating the cross-referencing of the first appID with the first appEUI;
receiving the first message from the first endpoint after the vendor subsequently instructs the first endpoint to transmit the first message with the first appID and without the first appEUI in order to thwart snooping of the first message, the first message being wirelessly broadcasted from the first endpoint in a connectionless manner.

12. A low power wide area network abstraction layer (LPWAL) comprising:
a low power wide area network (LPWAN) interface interfacing with a plurality of LPWANs, each of the plurality of LPWANs including:
i) at least one network server;
ii) at least one gateway;
iii) a plurality of

Assignees

• Cable Television Laboratories Inc

Inventors

• Malas Daryl
• Lund Robert M
• Schaffer Brandon
• Johnson Steve

Classifications

• H04W52/0216 Primary

  using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame · CPC title

• H04L67/125

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title

• H04L67/12

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title

• H04L69/06

  Notations for structuring of protocol data, e.g. abstract syntax notation one [ASN.1] · CPC title

• H04L69/18

  Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols · CPC title