Asymmetrical hail timing

• US 10,200,947 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2016
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Inventors: Splitz, David Edwin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nowlin, Eric
• Application Number:
  US15/206,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20180014248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/02 Power saving arrangements in wired systems H04L12/12; signaling of mobile application services, e.g. low battery notifications H04W4/20
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method includes transmitting first hail messages from a first device at a first hailing rate, in which time between beginnings of each consecutive first hail message is a first period, each first hail message transmitted for a first length of time, and a first gap extends between an end of each first hail message and a start of a next first hail message; listening at the first device for a second hail message repeatedly transmitted at a second hailing rate, wherein a second time between beginnings of each consecutive second hail message is a second period, each second hail message transmitted for a second length of time, and a second gap extends between an end of each second hail message and a start of a next second hail message; and performing, at the first device, a channel activity detection of a preamble in the second hail message.

Claims

1. A method of communicating hail messages, comprising:

repeatedly transmitting first hail messages from a first device at a first hailing rate, wherein a first time between beginnings of each consecutive first hail message is a first period, each first hail message transmitted for a first length of time, and a first gap extends between an end of each first hail message and a start of a next first hail message;

listening at the first device for a second hail message being repeatedly transmitted to the first device at a second hailing rate, wherein a second time between beginnings of each consecutive second hail message is a second period, each second hail message transmitted for a second length of time, and a second gap extends between an end of each second hail message and a start of a next second hail message; and

performing, at the first device, a channel activity detection of a preamble in the second hail message;

wherein the first period is greater than the second period, the first length of time is greater than the second length of time, and the first gap is greater than the second gap;

wherein the first device listens for the second hail message at a first listening rate that is less than a second listening rate of a second device;

wherein during transmission of the first hail message, the first device is in a first transmitting mode for a first transmitting percentage of the first period;

wherein during transmission of the second hail message, the second device is in a second transmitting mode for a second transmitting percentage of the second period;

wherein the second transmitting percentage is between three (3) and four (4) times larger than the first transmitting percentage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second hailing rate is five (5) hail messages per second, and the first hailing rate is two (2) hail messages per second.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first hailing rate is asynchronous with respect to the second listening rate, and

wherein the second hailing rate is asynchronous with respect to the first listening rate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second transmitting percentage is about 89% , and the first transmitting percentage is about 28%.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second hailing rate is five (5) times the first hailing rate.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second hailing rate is five (5) hail messages per second, and the first hailing rate is one (1) hail message per second.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first listening rate is 25% of the second listening rate.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein three (3) seconds separate each consecutive instance of listening by the first device, and wherein 750 milliseconds separate each consecutive instance of listening by the second device, wherein the second device is a DC repeater.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first length of time is about 1.5 times as long as the second length of time.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first length of time is 276 milliseconds, and the second length of time is 180 milliseconds.

11. A node, comprising:

a processor; and

logic processed by the processor to

repeatedly transmit first hail messages from the node at a first hailing rate, wherein a first time between beginnings of each consecutive first hail message is a first period, and a first gap extends between an end of each first hail message and a start of a next first hail message,

transmit each first hail message for a first length of time,

listen for a second hail message being repeatedly transmitted to the node at a second hailing rate, wherein a second time between beginnings of each consecutive second hail message is a second period, each second hail message transmitted for a second length of time, and a second gap extends between an end of each second hail message and a start of a next second hail message, and

perform a channel activity detection of a preamble in the second hail message,

wherein the first period is greater than the second period, the first length of time is greater than the second length of time, and the first gap is greater than the second gap,

wherein the logic is processed by the processor to listen for the second hail message at a first listening rate that is less than a second listening rate of a network device,

wherein during transmission of the first hail message, the node is in a first transmitting mode for a first transmitting percentage of the first period,

wherein during transmission of the second hail message, the network device is in a second transmitting mode for a second transmitting percentage of the second period,

wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to set the first transmitting percentage between 25% and about 33% of the second transmitting percentage.

12. The node of claim 11, wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to set the first hailing rate at two (2) hail messages per second.

13. The node of claim 11, wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to listen at the first listening rate of 25% of the second listening rate.

14. The node of claim 13, wherein three (3) seconds separate each consecutive instance of listening by the node.

15. The node of claim 11, wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to set the first length of time at about 1.5 times the second length of time.

16. The node of claim 11, wherein the first length of time is 276 milliseconds.

17. The node of claim 11, wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to set the first hailing rate to one-fifth of the second hailing rate.

18. The node of claim 17, wherein the first hailing rate is one (1) hail message per second.

19. A method of communicating hail messages, comprising:

repeatedly transmitting first hail messages from a first device at a first hailing rate, wherein a first time between beginnings of each consecutive first hail message is a first period, each first hail message transmitted for a first length of time, and a first gap extends between an end of each first hail message and a start of a next first hail message; and

listening at the first device for a second hail message being repeatedly transmitted to the first device at a second hailing rate, wherein a second time between beginnings of each consecutive second hail message is a second period, each second hail message transmitted for a second length of time, and a second gap extends between an end of each second hail message and a start of a next second hail message;

wherein the first period is greater than the second period, the first length of time is greater than the second length of time, and the first gap is greater than the second gap;

wherein the first device listens for the second hail message at a first listening rate that is less than a second listening rate of a second device;

wherein during transmission of the first hail message, the first device is in a first transmitting mode for a first transmitting percentage of the first period;

wherein during transmission of the second hail message, the second device is in a second transmitting mode for a second transmitting percentage of the second period; and

wherein the second transmitting percentage is between three (3) and four (4) times larger than the first transmitting percentage.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the second transmitting percentage is about 89% , and the first transmitting percentage is about 28%.

21. A node, comprising:

a processor; and

logic processed by the processor to

repeatedly transmit first hail messages from the node at a first hailing rate, wherein a first time between beginnings of each consecutive first hail message is a first period, and a first gap extends between an end of each first hail message and a start of a next first hail message,

transmit each first hail message for a first length of time, and

listen for a second hail message being repeatedly transmitted to the node at a second hailing rate, wherein a second time between beginnings of each consecutive second hail message is a second period, each second hail message transmitted for a second length of time, and a second gap extends between an end of each second hail message and a start of a next second hail message,

wherein the first period is greater than the second period, the first length of time is greater than the second length of time, and the first gap is greater than the second gap,

wherein the logic is processed by the processor to listen for the second hail message at a first listening rate that is less than a second listening rate of a network device,

wherein during transmission of the first hail message, the node is in a first transmitting mode for a first transmitting percentage of the first period,

wherein during transmission of the second hail message, the network device is in a second transmitting mode for a second transmitting percentage of the second period, and

wherein the logic is further processed by the processor to set the first transmitting percentage between 25% and about 33% of the second transmitting percentage.