Techniques for managing heterogenous nodes configured to support a homogeneous communication protocol
AssigneeItron Networked Solutions, Inc.
InventorGeorge H. Flammer, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wireless mesh network includes heterogeneous types of nodes, including continuously-powered nodes and battery-powered nodes. The battery-powered nodes may reside in a sleeping state most of the time to conserve power. The various nodes in the network may communicate with one another by transmitting and receiving at scheduled times and on scheduled frequencies. The battery-powered nodes may become active during the scheduled transmit and receive times. Network management nodes may facilitate network formation by transmitting information that reflects the scheduled transmit and receive times across the network. Based on this data, the continuously-powered nodes and battery-powered nodes may establish communication links with one another.
Claims21
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to establish a communication link between different network portions to generate a wireless mesh network, by performing the steps of:
- identifying, from outside a first network portion and a second network portion, a first node within the first network portion based on a first communication received from a first management node in the first network portion that specifies the first node;
- identifying, from outside the first network portion and the second network portion, a second node within the second network portion based on a second communication received from a second management node in the second network portion that specifies the second node, wherein the first network portion and the second network portion include separate and distinct nodes;
- determining that the first node and the second node should be communicatively coupled;
- obtaining, from the first management node in the first network portion, first network data that is associated with the first network portion and includes connectivity information related to the nodes included in the first network portion, wherein the connectivity information comprises a receive window provided by the first node to the first management node, and wherein the receive window comprises a window of time when the first node is available to receive communications from nodes in the second network portion;
- and
- transmitting the first network data to the second node to enable the second node to transmit communications to the first node within the receive window.
A system for coupling together different network portions to generate a wireless mesh network, comprising:
- a primary network management node, including:
- a memory that includes a network management application, and
- a processor that, in conjunction with executing the network management application, performs the steps of:
- identifying, from outside a first network portion and a second network portion, a first node within the first network portion based on a first communication received from a first management node in the first network portion that specifies the first node;
- identifying, from outside the first network portion and the second network portion, a second node within the second network portion based on a second communication received from a second management node in the second network portion that specifies the second node, wherein the first network portion and the second network portion include separate and distinct nodes;
- determining that the first node and the second node should be communicatively coupled,
- obtaining, based on the request and from a node in the first network portion, first network data that is associated with the first network portion and includes connectivity information related to the nodes included in the first network portion, wherein the connectivity information comprises a receive window provided by the first node to the node, and wherein the receive window comprises a window of time when the first node is available to receive communications from nodes in the second network portion, and
- transmitting the first network data to the second node to enable the second node to transmit communications to the first node within the receive window.
A computer-implemented method for establishing a communication link between different network portions to generate a wireless mesh network, the method comprising:
- identifying, from outside a first network portion and a second network portion, a first node within the first network portion based on a first communication received from a first management node in the first network portion that specifies the first node;
- identifying, from outside the first network portion and the second network portion, a second node within the second network portion based on a second communication received from a second management node in the second network portion that specifies the second node, wherein the first network portion and the second network portion include separate and distinct nodes;
- determining that the first node and the second node should be communicatively coupled;
- obtaining, from the first management node in the first network portion, first network data that is associated with the first network portion and includes connectivity information related to the nodes included in the first network portion, wherein the connectivity information comprises a receive window provided by the first node to the first management node, and wherein the receive window comprises a window of time when the first node is available to receive communications from nodes in the second network portion;
- and
- transmitting the first network data to the second node to enable the second node to transmit communications to the first node within the receive window.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.