UPDATING NODE PRESENCE BASED ON COMMUNICATION PATHWAY
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A data communications network, for which presence information is maintained for wireless data communication devices forming nodes of the network, includes: a presence server; and a plurality of nodes formed by the wireless data communication devices, each of the devices configured to send periodic check-in messages to the presence server. The presence server is configured to send an acknowledgment in response to a check-in message. Each of the wireless data communication devices is configured to reset a timer associated with the sending of the check-in messages by it upon (i) communicating, as an intermediate node, a check-in message originating at another node, and (ii) communicating, as an intermediate node, a corresponding acknowledgment originating at the presence server. The presence server is configured to update presence information of wireless data communication device from which a check-in message originates and each intermediate node.
-
Citations
37 Claims
-
1-16. -16. (canceled)
-
17. A method of maintaining presence information associated with a wireless data communication device of a data communications network, comprising the steps of:
-
(a) communicating a message from a first node of the data communications network to a gateway device along a pathway, the pathway including the wireless data communication device as an intermediary node of the pathway; (b) including with the message the pathway by which the message is communicated in the wireless data communication device; (c) storing, in a computer readable medium at the gateway device, information representing the pathway; (d) updating, at the gateway device, presence information of the wireless data communication device; (e) communicating an acknowledgment of the message to the first node along the reverse pathway; and (f) upon communicating the acknowledgement of the message by the wireless data communication device in said step (e), resetting a timer used by the wireless data communication device to trigger the sending of a presence indication of the wireless data communication device to the gateway device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. A method of indicating presence by a wireless data communication device that forms a node in a data communications network, comprising the steps of:
-
(a) receiving, at the wireless data communication device, a message originating at a first node and addressed to a gateway device; (b) storing, in a computer readable medium of the wireless data communication device, information associated with the message; (c) communicating, by the wireless data communication device, for delivery to gateway device, the message to another node of the data communications network; (d) receiving, at the wireless data communication device, an acknowledgment of the message by the gateway device; (e) resetting a timer at the wireless data communication device; and (f) communicating, by the wireless data communication device, for delivery to the first node, the acknowledgment of the message by the gateway device; (g) wherein the wireless data communication device is configured to communicate a message to the gateway device indicating the presence of the wireless data communication device as a node in the data communications network at predetermined intervals based on the timer. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37-41. -41. (canceled)
Specification