Apparatus and method for redundant connectivity and multi-channel operation of wireless devices

• US 20090022121A1
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Budampati, Ramakrishna S., Gonia, Patrick S., Mahasenan, Arun V.
• Granted Patent: US 7,933,240 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1868 Measures taken after transmission, e.g. acknowledgments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A wireless network includes leaf nodes (such as wireless sensors or other wireless devices) and infrastructure nodes (such as access points). The leaf nodes communicate data messages to the infrastructure nodes. The infrastructure nodes communicate the data messages to gateway infrastructure nodes, which transmit the data messages over a wired network. The leaf nodes may communicate data messages to multiple infrastructure nodes in various ways. For example, the leaf nodes may transmit multiple messages, one at a time, to multiple infrastructure nodes. The leaf nodes may also broadcast a single message to multiple infrastructure nodes. In addition, the leaf nodes may communicate a single message containing a group identifier (such as a multi-cast group address) associated with multiple infrastructure nodes. In this way, communications from the leaf nodes may be more reliable. This may be particularly useful, for example, in networks such as 802.11-based networks.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting at least one message from a wireless device in a wireless network to a plurality of access points in the wireless network; and

receiving at least one acknowledgement message at the wireless device from at least one of the access points.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network comprises a network compliant with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the wireless device communicates a plurality of messages to the access points; and

one message is sent from the wireless device to each of the access points.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the wireless device communicates each of the messages to one of the access points using a different Service Set Identifier (SSID).

5. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the wireless device communicates a single message to the access points; and

the message is broadcast from the wireless device to all access points within range of the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

Medium Access Control (MAC) layer address filtering is not used in the access points to process the message; and

the message is received by at least one of the access points and is provided to a mesh layer in at least one of the access points for filtering based on a source address of the message.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the wireless device communicates a single message to the access points; and

the message includes a group identifier that identifies intended access points associated with the message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each access point that receives the message from the wireless device determines if it is associated with the group identifier.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the group identifier further identifies an order in which the intended access points send the acknowledgement messages to the wireless device.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the access points operate in a Point Coordination Function (PCF) mode of operation.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the wireless device comprises a wireless sensor in an industrial control and automation system, the industrial control and automation system associated with an industrial process.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store data to be transmitted;

a controller configured to generate a message containing at least some of the data to be transmitted;

a wireless transceiver configured to transmit the message to a plurality of access points in a wireless network; and

a local power supply configured to supply power to the memory, the controller, and the wireless transceiver;

wherein the wireless transceiver is further configured to receive at least one acknowledgement message from at least one of the access points.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the wireless network comprises a network compliant with an IEEE 802.11 standard.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to generate and the transceiver is configured to transmit a plurality of messages to the access points, one message for each of the access points.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is configured to transmit each of the messages to one of the access points using a different Service Set Identifier (SSID).

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to generate and the transceiver is configured to broadcast a single message to all access points within range of the transceiver.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein:

the controller is configured to generate and the transceiver is configured to transmit a single message to the access points; and

the message includes a group identifier that identifies intended access points associated with the message.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the group identifier further identifies an order in which the intended access points send the acknowledgement messages to the wireless device.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a wireless transceiver configured to receive a message from a wireless device;

a controller configured to identify a group identifier associated with the message; and

a memory configured to store information identifying one or more intended recipients and an order of acknowledgement transmission associated with the group identifier;

wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the apparatus is one of the intended recipients associated with the group identifier and, if so, to identify a time or position to transmit an acknowledgement message to the wireless device; and

wherein the wireless transceiver is further configured to transmit the acknowledgement message to the wireless device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the group identifier comprises at least one of:

a group number and a group address.