METHODS FOR MANAGING AN ELECTION OF A CLUSTER HEAD IN AD HOC MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND SYSTEMS THEREOF

• US 20100046363A1
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Rochester Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Rochester Institute of Technology, Spectracom Corporation
• Inventors: Shenoy, Nirmala, Al-Mousa, Yamin S., Fischer, John
• Application Number:
  US12/435,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20100046363A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/216
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

A method, computer readable medium, and system for managing a mobile communication network includes identifying one or more mobile communication devices within a region. One of the one or more identified mobile communication devices which have been dynamically formed into one or more clusters having a tree structure and are at least partially meshed together is elected as a cluster head in each of one or more clusters based on one or more parameters.

Claims

1. A method for managing a mobile communication network, the method comprising:

identifying one or more mobile communication devices within a region;

electing one of the identified one or more mobile communication devices which have been dynamically formed into one or more clusters having a tree structure and are at least partially meshed together based on one or more parameters as a cluster head in each of one or more clusters.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of stored credentials, stored rank, maximum available bandwidth, and centricity of position related to other of the plurality of mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

detecting an occurrence of at least one event in at least one of the one or more clusters; and

electing another one of the plurality of nodes as the cluster head in the at least one of the clusters in which the event was detected.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the events comprise at least one of a failure of one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, a security breach at one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, and an expiration of a first set period of time.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electing further comprises:

determining which one of the one or more mobile communication devices has a larger number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop in each of the one or more clusters; and

electing the one of the one or more mobile communication devices with the largest number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within the one hop as the cluster head.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5 further comprising:

assigning a unique numerical identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices;

wherein the determining further comprises determining when two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices each have the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop;

wherein the electing further comprises electing one of the two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices having the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop based on the assigned unique numerical identifiers.

7. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electing further comprises:

determining when one of the one or more clusters has a single one of the one or more mobile communication devices; and

electing the single one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head.

8. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electing further comprises assigning one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head for one of the one or more clusters based on at least one stored instruction.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising:

determining when one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head for one of the clusters seeks to join another cluster having another one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head;

determining which of the two clusters has a larger maximum cluster size; and

designating the one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head of the cluster with the larger maximum cluster size as the cluster head for the two clusters.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising dynamically assigning at least one virtual identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices based on the elected one of the one or more mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters as the cluster head to provide address information for routing communications between two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices.

11. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions for managing a mobile communication network comprising machine executable code which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform steps comprising:

identifying one or more mobile communication devices within a region;

electing one of the identified one or more mobile communication devices which have been dynamically formed into one or more clusters having a tree structure and are at least partially meshed together based on one or more parameters as a cluster head in each of one or more clusters.

12. The medium as set forth in claim 11 wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of stored credentials, stored rank, maximum available bandwidth, and centricity of position related to other of the one or more mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters.

13. The medium as set forth in claim 11 further comprising:

detecting an occurrence of at least one event in at least one of the one or more clusters; and

electing another one of the plurality of nodes as the cluster head in the at least one of the clusters in which the event was detected.

14. The medium as set forth in claim 13 wherein the events comprise at least one of a failure of one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, a security breach at one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, and an expiration of a first set period of time.

15. The medium as set forth in claim 11 wherein the electing further comprises:

determining which one of the one or more mobile communication devices has a larger number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop in each of the one or more clusters; and

electing the one of the one or more mobile communication devices with the largest number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within the one hop as the cluster head.

16. The medium as set forth in claim 15 further comprising:

assigning a unique numerical identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices;

wherein the determining further comprises determining when two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices each have the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop;

wherein the electing further comprises electing one of the two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices having the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop based on the assigned unique numerical identifiers.

17. The medium as set forth in claim 11 wherein the electing further comprises:

determining when one of the one or more clusters has a single one of the one or more mobile communication devices; and

electing the single one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head.

18. The medium as set forth in claim 11 wherein the electing further comprises assigning one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head for one of the one or more clusters based on at least one stored instruction.

19. The medium as set forth in claim 11 further comprising:

determining when one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head for one of the clusters seeks to join another cluster having another one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head;

determining which of the two clusters has a larger maximum cluster size; and

designating the one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head of the cluster with the larger maximum cluster size as the cluster head for the two clusters.

20. The medium as set forth in claim 11 further comprising dynamically assigning at least one virtual identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices based on the elected one of the one or more mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters as the cluster head to provide address information for routing communications between two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices.

21. A mobile communication management system comprising:

an identification system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices that identifies one or more mobile communication devices within a region; and

an election processing system in at least one of the identified one or more mobile communication devices elects one of the one or more mobile communication devices which have been dynamically formed into one or more clusters having a tree structure and are at least partially meshed together based on one or more parameters as a cluster head in each of one or more clusters.

22. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the one or more parameters comprise one or more of stored credentials, stored rank, maximum available bandwidth, and centricity of position related to other of the one or more mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters.

23. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices detects an occurrence of at least one event in at least one of the one or more clusters and elects another one of the plurality of nodes as the cluster head in the at least one of the clusters in which the event was detected.

24. The system as set forth in claim 23 wherein the events comprise at least one of a failure of one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, a security breach at one of the one or more mobile communication devices in one of the one or more cluster, and an expiration of a first set period of time.

25. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices determines which one of the one or more mobile communication devices has a larger number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop in each of the one or more clusters and elects the one of the one or more mobile communication devices with the largest number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within the one hop as the cluster head.

26. The system as set forth in claim 25 wherein the virtual identification system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices assigns a unique numerical identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices and wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices determines when two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices each have the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop and elects one of the two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices having the same number of other of the one or more mobile communication devices within one hop based on the assigned unique numerical identifiers.

27. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices determines when one of the one or more clusters has a single one of the one or more mobile communication devices and elects the single one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head.

28. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices assigns one of the one or more mobile communication devices as the cluster head for one of the one or more clusters based on at least one stored instruction.

29. The system as set forth in claim 21 wherein the election processing system in at least one of a one or more mobile communication devices determines when one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head for one of the clusters seeks to join another cluster having another one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head, determines which of the two clusters has a larger maximum cluster size, and designates the one of the one or more mobile communication devices which is the cluster head of the cluster with the larger maximum cluster size as the cluster head for the two clusters.

30. The system as set forth in claim 21 further comprising a virtual identifier assignment system in at least one of the one or more mobile communication devices that dynamically assigns at least one virtual identifier to each of the one or more mobile communication devices based on the elected one of the one or more mobile communication devices in each of the one or more clusters as the cluster head to provide address information for routing communications between two or more of the one or more mobile communication devices.