Association management in a wireless node network

A method for association management within a wireless node network having at least a plurality of nodes and a server, the method comprising:

• receiving, at the server, an association request from a second of the nodes in the wireless node network, the association request asking for permission to associate a first of the nodes in the wireless node network to the second node;
• determining, by the server, a location of the first node and second node;
• determining, by the server, if associating the first node to the second node is desired based at least upon the location of the first node and the location of the second node;
• recording, by the server, new association data in a memory of the server if it is desired to associate the first node with the second node;
• and
• transmitting a response from the server to the second node granting the permission to associate the first node to the second node.

A system for association management of a wireless node network, comprising:

• a first node;
• a second node comprising a node processing unit, a node volatile memory coupled to the node processing unit, a first communication interface coupled to the node processing unit, and a second communication interface coupled to the node processing unit, wherein the first communication interface provides a short-range communication path between the first node and the second node;
• and
• a server comprising a server processing unit, a server volatile memory, and a third communication interface that provides a longer range communication path between the server and the second communication interface of the second node;
• wherein the node processing unit, when executing at least a first program code section resident in the node volatile memory, is operative to
• identify the first node as a potential for associating with the second node,
• transmit an association request over the second communication interface to the server,
• receive an association response over the second communication interface from the server, the association response comprising at least authorization information generated by the server,
• provide the authorization information to the first node, and
• associate the first node and the second node, and
• wherein the server processing unit, when executing at least a second program code section resident in the server volatile memory, is operative to
• determine a location of the first node and second node,
• determine if associating the first node to the second node is desired based at least upon the location of the first node and the location of the second node,
• store new association data in the server volatile memory if it is desired to associate the first node with the second node, the new association data reflecting the associated status of the first and the second node, and
• transmit the authorization response to the second node granting the permission to associate the first node to the second node.

A method for association management within a wireless node network having at least a plurality of nodes and a server, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a second of the nodes, a message broadcast from a first of the nodes;
• capturing, by the second node, an address of the first node from the message;
• associating, by the second node, the first node and the second node by storing the captured address of the first node and an address of the second node as association data in a memory of the second node;
• transmitting, by the second node, the association data to the server;
• determining, by the second node, a location of the first node;
• and
• updating, by the second node, the server with a current location of the second node and the determined location of the first node.