Quality assessment of a communication connection in a radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system

A method for assessing an overall status of a radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system having a main station and a plurality of secondary stations, which comprises the steps of:

• determining a value of a first parameter for a selected secondary station with the value of the first parameter being indicative of a connection security only between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• determining a value of a second parameter for the selected secondary station, with the value of the second parameter being indicative for connection securities only between respective directly adjacent secondary stations of the selected secondary station and the main station;
• assessing a quality of the communication connection between the selected secondary station and the main station based only on the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter;
• assigning a status at least to the selected secondary station, with the status being a measure for a number of communication paths independent of one another between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• transferring the status of the selected secondary station to the main station;
• and
• assessing the overall status of the radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system based on the status transferred.

A selected secondary station for a radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system having further secondary stations and a main station, the selected secondary station comprising:

• a transmit unit for transmitting information to at least one directly adjacent secondary station;
• a receive unit for receiving information from the at least one directly adjacent secondary station;
• and
• a processor which is coupled to said transmit unit and to said receive unit, said processor programmed to:
• determine a value of a first parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the first parameter being indicative of a connection security only between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• determine a value of a second parameter for the selected secondary station, with the value of the second parameter being indicative for connection securities only between respective directly adjacent secondary stations of the selected secondary station and the main station;
• and
• assess a quality of the communication connection between the selected secondary station and the main station based only on the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter.

A radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system, comprising:

• a main station;
• and
• a selected secondary station and at least one further secondary station each configured for recognizing a hazard and for reporting to said main station in an event of a detected hazard, with said selected secondary station and said at least one further secondary station being coupled via one of a direct and an indirect radio connection to said main station, said selected secondary station programmed to:
• determine a value of a first parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the first parameter being indicative of a connection security only between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• determine a value of a second parameter for the selected secondary station, with a value of the second parameter being indicative for connection securities only between respective directly adjacent secondary stations of said selected secondary station and said main station;
• and
• assess a quality of a communication connection between said selected secondary station and said main station based only on the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter.

A computer-readable storage medium having a program with executable instructions for assessing a quality of a communication connection between a selected secondary station of a plurality of secondary stations and a main station of a radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system, the program, when it is executed by a processor of the selected secondary station performing the steps of:

• determining a value of a first parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the first parameter being indicative of a connection security only between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• determining a value of a second parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the second parameter being indicative for connection securities only between respective directly adjacent secondary stations of the selected secondary station and the main station;
• and
• assessing the quality of the communication connection between the selected secondary station and the main station based only on the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter.

A program element for assessing a quality of a communication connection between a selected secondary station of a plurality of secondary stations and a main station of a radio-operated multi-hop hazard reporting system, with the program element, when it is executed by a processor of the selected secondary station, performing the steps of:

• determining a value of a first parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the first parameter being indicative of a connection security only between the selected secondary station and the main station;
• determining a value of a second parameter for the selected secondary station with the value of the second parameter being indicative for connection securities only between respective directly adjacent secondary stations of the selected secondary station and the main station;
• and
• assessing the quality of the communication connection between the selected secondary station and the main station based only on the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter.