Dynamic medium switching for hybrid networks
First Claim
1. A wireless device, comprising:
- a wireless transceiver configured for transfer of data packets via a wireless network;
a wired transceiver configured for transfer of data packets via a wired network;
medium switching logic that determines which of the wireless transceiver and the wired transceiver is to be used to transmit a data packet, the medium switching logic is configured to;
maintain a wireless network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wireless network;
maintain a wired network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wired network;
select one of the wireless transceiver and the wired transceiver to be used for initial transmission of the data packet based on which of the wireless confidence rating value and the wired confidence rating value is indicative of a higher likelihood of the packet being successfully transmitted; and
route the packet to the selected transceiver for transmission.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for dynamic medium switching in a hybrid network. A method for packet transmission by a combo device includes maintaining a wireless network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of a wireless network accessed by the device. A wired network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of a wired network accessed by the device is also maintained. One of the wireless network and the wired network to be used for initial transmission of the data packet is selected based on which of the wireless confidence rating value and the wired confidence rating value is indicative of a higher likelihood of the packet being successfully transmitted. The packet is routed to be transmitted via the selected network.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A wireless device, comprising:
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a wireless transceiver configured for transfer of data packets via a wireless network; a wired transceiver configured for transfer of data packets via a wired network; medium switching logic that determines which of the wireless transceiver and the wired transceiver is to be used to transmit a data packet, the medium switching logic is configured to; maintain a wireless network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wireless network; maintain a wired network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wired network; select one of the wireless transceiver and the wired transceiver to be used for initial transmission of the data packet based on which of the wireless confidence rating value and the wired confidence rating value is indicative of a higher likelihood of the packet being successfully transmitted; and route the packet to the selected transceiver for transmission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for packet transmission by a hybrid device, comprising:
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maintaining a wireless network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of a wireless network accessed by the device; maintaining a wired network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of a wired network accessed by the device; selecting one of the wireless network and the wired network to be used for initial transmission of the data packet based on which of the wireless confidence rating value and the wired confidence rating value is indicative of a higher likelihood of the packet being successfully transmitted; and routing the packet to a transceiver for transmission via the selected network. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A smart grid network, comprising:
a plurality of nodes communicatively coupled via a wired network or a wireless network, at least one of the nodes comprising; medium switching logic that determines which of the wireless network and the wired network is to be used to transmit a data packet, the medium switching logic is configured to; maintain a wireless network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wireless network; maintain a wired network confidence rating value that is indicative of packet transfer reliability of the wired network; and select one of the wireless network and the wired network to be used for initial transmission of the data packet based on which of the wireless confidence rating value and the wired confidence rating value is indicative of a higher likelihood of the packet being successfully transmitted; select a retransmission allowance that defines a number of allowable transmission attempts for the initial transmission, the retransmission allowance determined based on a difference of the wired network confidence rating and the wireless network confidence rating; and provide the data packet and retransmission allowance to transmission logic for packet transmission via the selected network. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A node in a hybrid network, comprising:
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a wireless transceiver that couples the node with a wireless network; a wired transceiver that couples the node with a wired network; a processor coupled to the wireless transceiver and the wired transceiver; a storage for storing instructions executable by the processor, the storage having a medium switching logic that determines which of the wireless network and the wired network is to be used to transmit a data packet;
the medium switching logic having;a confidence rating logic that computes and maintains a wired network confidence rating value and a wireless network confidence rating value that are indicative of packet transfer reliability for the wired network and the wireless network respectively, wherein the medium switching logic selects one of the wireless network and the wired network to be used for initial transmission of the data packet based on one of the wired network confidence rating value and the wireless network confidence rating value. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification