Systems and methods for recovering an out-of-service node in a hierarchical network
First Claim
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1. A wireless communication network comprising:
- a plurality of nodes, each node being configured in wireless communication with at least one other node, and at least one of the plurality of nodes being configured in wireless communication with a utility provider;
wherein the utility provider and the plurality of nodes are arranged in a hierarchy with the utility provider being highest in the hierarchy, the plurality of nodes being arranged such that two nodes in direct wireless communication with each other include a parent node and a child node, the parent node being higher in the hierarchy with respect to the child node; and
wherein, when a first node of the plurality of nodes is determined to be out-of-service, the plurality of nodes are configured to perform a recovery procedure to restore the first node to operation, the recovery procedure includingtransmitting a hailing message on a plurality of hailing channels from a second node to the first node, the first node being in a sniffing mode,transmitting a time synchronization signal from the second node to the first node, the second node being in direct wireless communication with the first node, anddetermining, by the first node, whether the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than a predefined threshold,wherein the first node is configured to perform a super sniffing mode for a predetermined time period, responsive to determining that the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than the predefined threshold, the super sniffing mode comprising searching the plurality of hailing channels in a sequential mode for a hailing signal until the hailing signal is discovered from the parent node,wherein no waiting period exists between each search of the plurality of hailing channels in the sequential mode.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device are disclosed herein. In particular, a method of recovering an out-of-service node comprises sending a hailing message on a plurality of hailing channels from a second node to the out-of-service node, the second node being in direct wireless communication with the out-of-service node, and sending a synchronization request message from the second node to the out-of-service node on a first data channel.
463 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A wireless communication network comprising:
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a plurality of nodes, each node being configured in wireless communication with at least one other node, and at least one of the plurality of nodes being configured in wireless communication with a utility provider; wherein the utility provider and the plurality of nodes are arranged in a hierarchy with the utility provider being highest in the hierarchy, the plurality of nodes being arranged such that two nodes in direct wireless communication with each other include a parent node and a child node, the parent node being higher in the hierarchy with respect to the child node; and wherein, when a first node of the plurality of nodes is determined to be out-of-service, the plurality of nodes are configured to perform a recovery procedure to restore the first node to operation, the recovery procedure including transmitting a hailing message on a plurality of hailing channels from a second node to the first node, the first node being in a sniffing mode, transmitting a time synchronization signal from the second node to the first node, the second node being in direct wireless communication with the first node, and determining, by the first node, whether the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than a predefined threshold, wherein the first node is configured to perform a super sniffing mode for a predetermined time period, responsive to determining that the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than the predefined threshold, the super sniffing mode comprising searching the plurality of hailing channels in a sequential mode for a hailing signal until the hailing signal is discovered from the parent node, wherein no waiting period exists between each search of the plurality of hailing channels in the sequential mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A radio frequency (RF) device of a plurality of RF devices configured within a wireless communication network, the RF device comprising:
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an oscillator operatively configured to maintain a reference clock signal; an antenna operatively configured to transmit RF communication signals directly to and receive RF communication signals directly from at least one other RF device of the plurality of RF devices configured within the wireless communication network; and a microprocessor operatively connected to the oscillator and the antenna, wherein the microprocessor is operatively configured to determine when a first RF device of the at least one other RF device is out-of-service, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to perform a recovery procedure to restore the first RF device to operation, and wherein the recovery procedure includes transmitting a hailing message via the antenna on a plurality of hailing channels to the first RF device, transmitting the reference clock signal via the antenna on a first data channel to the first RF device, and determining, by the first RF device, whether the reference clock signal causes a time shift greater than a predefined threshold, wherein the first RF device is configured to perform a super sniffing mode for a predetermined time period, responsive to determining that the reference clock signal causes a time shift greater than the predefined threshold, the super sniffing mode comprising searching the plurality of hailing channels in a sequential mode for a hailing signal until the hailing signal is discovered from at least one other RF device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of wirelessly communicating within a communication network, the method comprising the steps of:
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communicating directly and wirelessly with at least one node of a plurality of nodes in the communication network; determining when a first node of the at least one node is out-of-service, the first node being in a sniffing mode; and performing a recovery procedure to restore the first node to operation, wherein the recovery procedure includes transmitting a hailing message on a plurality of hailing channels to the first node, transmitting a time synchronization signal to the first node, determining, by the first node, whether the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than a predefined threshold, and wherein the first node is configured to perform a super sniffing mode for a predetermined time period, responsive to determining that the time synchronization signal causes a time shift greater than the predefined threshold, the super sniffing mode comprising searching the plurality of hailing channels in a sequential mode for a hailing signal until the hailing signal is discovered from a parent node. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification