US 11,696,212 B2Granted

Beacon and method for setting up and for maintaining a network

AssigneeM-Way Solutions GmbH

InventorMarius Heil

Life of this patent

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Abstract

The invention relates to a method for establishing and maintaining a network having two or more subscribers, based on radio connections between the subscribers in accordance with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard, each subscriber being uniquely characterized by way of a subscriber identifier (node ID). Provision is made in that context that clusters having one subscriber, or several subscribers connected by means of BLE network connections, are formed; that a unique cluster identifier (cluster ID) is allocated to each cluster; that a first subscriber of a first cluster selects a second subscriber, located within range of a BLE connection, from a second cluster that is smaller or of the same size, and causes it to be detached from the second cluster and integrated into the first cluster by way of a BLE network connection to the first subscriber. The invention further relates to a beacon for carrying out the method.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A beacon for a battery- or rechargeable battery-operated subscriber, the beacon comprising:

a microprocessor;
and
a radio interface configured to establish, in accordance with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard, a data connection to a further subscriber having such an interface;
and
wherein the beacon is configured
in a first mode of operation, to continuously broadcast connection data and to search for transmitted connection data of further subscribers with a given frequency according to the BLE standard,
establish a BLE network with further subscribers, from which connection data has been received by the beacon, by establishing BLE network connections, and
in a second mode of operation, to reduce the frequency with which connection data are broadcast and/or searched for, the reduced frequency being lower than the given frequency, or to halt the broadcast of and/or search for connection data, when all of the subscribers present within range of a BLE data connection to any one or more of each other have been integrated into the BLE network,
wherein the battery- or rechargeable battery-operated subscriber and the further subscribers of the BLE network are assigned to at least one cluster having a unique cluster identifier,
wherein before establishing said BLE network connections, identifier data containing the cluster identifier of the at least one cluster are delivered between the battery- or rechargeable battery-operated subscriber and the further subscribers of the BLE network, and
wherein the beacon is further configured to reduce the frequency with which connection data are broadcast and/or searched for or to halt the broadcast of and/or search for connection data, if the received identifier data all have the same cluster identifier.

8 more elements

A method for establishing and maintaining a BLE network having two or more subscribers, based on radio data connections between the subscribers in accordance with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard, the method comprising:

in a first mode of operation, continuously broadcasting connection data and to searching for transmitted connection data of further subscribers with a given frequency according to the BLE standard;
establishing a BLE network with further subscribers, from which connection data has been received, by establishing BLE network connections;
and
in a second mode of operation, reducing the frequency with which connection data are broadcast and/or searched for, the reduced frequency being lower than the given frequency, or halting the broadcast of and/or search for connection data, when all of the subscribers present within range of a BLE data connection to any one or more of each other have been integrated into the BLE network,
wherein the subscribers and the further subscribers of the BLE network are assigned to at least one cluster having a unique cluster identifier,
wherein before establishing said BLE network connections, identifier data containing the cluster identifier of the at least one cluster are delivered by means of advertising packets between the subscribers and the further subscribers of the BLE network, and
in the second mode of operation the frequency with which connection data are broadcast and/or searched for is reduced or the broadcast of and/or search for connection data is halted, if the received identifier data all have the same cluster identifier.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/895,668Filed 8 Jun 2020 · continuation
Priority: DE 102015111405.414 Jul 2015
Published: US 2020/0305060 A124 Sep 2020
Granted: 4 Jul 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04W 40/32
Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update: for defining a routing cluster membership
H04W 4/80
Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor: services using short range communication, e.g. near-field…
H04W 8/005
Network data management: discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
H04W 24/02
Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements: arrangements for optimising operational condition

Family

PCT/EP2016/066605Parent of this continuation · filed 13 Jul 2016
US 2020/0305060 A1Pre-grant publication · published 24 Sep 2020
Application15/742,911Parent of this continuation
US 10,785,702 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2018/0220354 A1Published application
US 11,696,212 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.