US 12,013,257 B2
Method and apparatus for remote monitoring and management of storage using machine learning and data analytics
Naeem Zafar, Cupertino, CA (US); Peter Michael Goesseringer, Jr., Saratoga, CA (US); Nicholas William Garner, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Pragya Kumar, Sunnyvale, CA (US); and Achint Jagjit Sanghi, Irvine, CA (US)
Assigned to TeleSense, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Filed by TeleSense, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 26, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/285,964.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/636,087, filed on Feb. 27, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2019/0265082 A1, Aug. 29, 2019
Int. Cl. G01D 11/24 (2006.01); A01F 25/00 (2006.01); A01F 25/16 (2006.01); G01D 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01D 11/245 (2013.01) [A01F 25/00 (2013.01); A01F 25/16 (2013.01); G01D 7/00 (2013.01)] 27 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sensor pod for detecting or providing information about characteristics of a crop storage environment, the sensor pod comprising:
a three-dimensional round enclosure containing at least the following:
(i) a power supply;
(ii) a memory;
(iii) a processor, the processor configured to execute instructions in the memory and to read and write data to and from the memory;
(iv) a radio receiver;
(v) a radio transmitter;
(vi) an antenna; the antenna configured to wirelessly transmit data and receive data; and
(vii) one or more sensors; wherein the one or more sensors comprise a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, and one or more of the following: a humidity sensor, an oxygen sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a phosphine sensor, an acoustic sensor, an ethylene sensor, a positioning sensor, and a pressure sensor;
wherein the three-dimensional round enclosure comprises a permeable area, thereby allowing the one or more sensors to detect the environment;
wherein the three-dimensional round enclosure includes at least one enclosed motor or internal fan configured to move the sensor pod,
wherein the sensor pod is configured to wirelessly transmit a position of the sensor pod to a gateway or a cloud computing system and receive instructions from the gateway or the cloud computing system comprising movement instructions determined based on the position of the sensor pod,
wherein the sensor pod is configured to move itself within a crop storage environment based on the movement instructions received from the gateway or the cloud computing system, wherein the movement instructions include a desired position of the sensor pod within the crop storage environment and a route for the sensor pod to take to reach the desired position;
wherein the sensor pod is configured to be in two possible modes: an active mode, in which power from the power supply is delivered to the radio transmitter and the radio receiver, or a sleep mode, in which power from the power supply is not delivered to the radio transmitter or the radio receiver; and
wherein the sensor pod can switch between the active mode and the sleep mode and between the sleep mode and the active mode, and wherein the sensor pod is configured to automatically switch from the sleep mode to the active mode responsive to the accelerometer detecting movement beyond a predetermined threshold, wherein the sensor pod will automatically transfer data to the gateway or the cloud computing system upon switching from sleep mode to active mode.